Cool Customer
by Ca1piggy
Summary: What happens if Bell was an extremely cool dude instead of a scared rabbit? I do not own Danmachi.
1. Chapter 1

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

There once was a little rabbit-like boy named Bell, who grew up in a small mountain village with his grandfather. His grandfather raised him, gave him lots of love, read him hero's stories, encouraged him to become a hero and get a harem, taught him how to fight, and protect him. Unfortunately, one winter day on his 14th year, Bell's grandfather never came home. To Bell's utter devastation, he was told that his grandfather died fighting some monsters. Determined to fulfill his grandfather's hopes, Bell needed to go to the city of Orario to become a hero. Thus, the white haired boy with large teary red eyes left his village.

Bell got himself a room in a hotel and went to join a familia. He then went to the well-known ones, Loki, Freya, Hermes, Ganesha, ... even Ishtar. However, no one wanted him. They said to come back when he grew up. He tried and tried, asked and asked, but it was not meant to be. Almost out of money, he walked around Orario trying to figure out what his next step is.

As he walked around, he got hungry and bought some potato snacks. The vendor was this cute young girl with twin black ponytails and big boobs. He appreciated the boob to size ratio of this girl and decided she was a good candidate for the harem. As he checked her out head to toe, she noticed Bell's manly attitude.

Girl "What can I help you with?"

Bell "Well, what I really need is a familia, but I would settle for some maternal loving from you", making the girl blush.

Girl "Wow, you are a forward one. Well I am a new goddess so you are in luck. I can make you my first"

Bell "First what? First kiss? First squeeze? First lover?"

Blushing girl "BTW, I am Hestia. You are cute but you got quite the confidence. I can make you my first familia member. The rest of your aspirations, well, you have to earn it"

Bell "We have a deal. You are the goddess of Hearth if I remember mythology correctly. So you are all about warmth and comfort, I can dig that"

Hestia blushed again "Alright, let's go to my home so I can give you a falna after my shift", with the boy's boldness causing something to stir in her heart.

Bell "You are a goddess, why are you working here?"

Hestia "Goddesses have to make a living too!"

After Hestia was finished working, they went to her home, an abandoned old church.

Bell "You live here?"

Embarrassed Hestia "Yes that is all I can afford"

Bell "Well, I will need to make money so we can enjoy a good life"

Hestia then gave Bell a falna. That night, Hestia slept on the bed while Bell was on the couch. With the close proximity, they peeked at each other. However, Bell did not make any moves on her.

The next morning, Bell went to the guild to sign up as an adventurer. His advisor was named Eina, who was a cute half-elf. After she gave him the basics, Bell chatted her up a little.

Bell "Wow, my advisor is so cute", making Eina blush.

Eina "You are a smooth one. Be careful in the dungeon"

Bell "Thanks for your kind love and tenderness. I hope to see you soon", making Eina feeling warm inside.

After Bell left, Eina's colleague, Misha, teased her being so easily charmed by a level 1 adventurer. Misha focused on how easily Bell got Eina to blush, and asked if that was because Bell had a cute look with large red eyes and pure white hair. The teasing got Eina upset who threatened Misha with consequences, so it quickly stopped.

Bell went to the dungeon everyday to earn money, and he bought home food to share with his goddess. Hestia also bought back unsold potato puffs, so they enjoyed their dinner on most nights. As a few days passed and Bell progressed nicely in the dungeon and earned more valis everyday.

Five days after, Bell met a young cute girl with silver hair named Syr who gave him a breakfast. In exchange, he promised to go to her pub for dinner. He looked forward to flirting with Syr that night.

That day, Bell went all the way down to the 5th floor. As he killed goblins, kobolds and other monsters, he collected many magic stones for the day. However, suddenly this enormous dangerous bull monster showed up!

Bell "A minotaur, no way", running away as fast as he could, but he soon was cornered by the monster. He tried to cut the mino with his small knife but it was useless and he was slammed against the wall.

As his life was about to end, the minotaur suddenly turned into dust, though mino blood was splattered all over Bell's face. To his amazement, this beautiful blonde girl with golden eyes leaned close to him.

Girl "Are you ok?", with a blank look but still sounding worried.

Bell was amazing at the cuteness of this girl. She was THE ONE. She was hot, sweet, slender but with good boobs and long blonde hair. She looked about 14, his age. Bell was embarrassed being saved by the girl instead of saving the girl. However, he had his shot and he had to take it.

Bell smiled "I am fine but you are beautiful. Too beautiful not to kiss" and then he went for it as he leaned in and kissed the girl on the lips.

The girl was motionless and did not respond to the kiss. Seeing no resistance, Bell gave her another kiss for good measure. Suddenly the girl's face finally turned crimson red, eyes started to spin around and around, steam came out of her ears, got super embarrassed and turned her head. She then ran away as fast as she could up towards the surface. A couple other adventurers went chasing after the girl.

One male werewolf "Ais, where are you running to. You already saved that tomato kid."

An amazon girl "Ais, wait for us."

After the girl and her apparent friends ran away, Bell collected the mino stone and also went back himself. It was his first and second kisses, but it felt so good. Being very happy, he then went to the guild to change the stones for valis. Bell's tomato red face from the blood freaked out everyone, and Eina yelled at Bell for showing up in such a state. After Bell washed up, Eina met him in a private room.

Eina "Never walk into the guild without cleaning up again.

Bell "I am sorry, but I am just so excited I can to talk to you"

Eina "What happened"

Bell "I was on the 5th floor, but a minotaur showed up. As it had me corner, this beautiful girl showed up and saved me. I need to know who she is?"

Eina "What were you doing on the 5th floor? What was a minotaur doing on the 5th floor. Why are you focused on the girl when you could have died?"

Bell "I kept killing monsters and it was easy, so I kept going. I dont know why the minotaur showed up. But I need to know who the girl with golden hair and golden eyes is. She is so hot and she saved me. So I thanked her with a kiss and then a second kiss before she got embarrassed and ran away."

Eina "OMG, there is only one female adventurer in Orario with golden hair and golden eyes. That is Ais Wallenstein, the level 5 first class adventurer who is central to the Loki Familia. You KISSED her? Are you insane?"

Bell smiled "Where does she live? I want to ask her on a date so I can kiss her some more. Her lips are so soft"

Eina "She lives in the Twilight Manor, and you will not do anything like that if you want to live. Ais Wallenstein can end your life with one flick of her wrist, as can the other 6 Loki executives. And do you know that there have been 1000 failed courtships. I think any of the 1000 would want to kill you for claiming her lips."

Happy Bell "So she does not have a boyfriend, so she should be all mine then"

Eina "She does not have a boyfriend, and you better tread lightly so you will quickly be history"

After another 10 minutes of lecturing, Bell was allowed to leave. But he headed towards the pub because he promised Syr earlier in the day. After some searching, he found the pub called Hostess of Fertility. Bell laughed inside thinking about fertility and that the girls there must all be hot.

When Bell went inside, he was quickly spotted by Syr, who took him to a table. Soon after, a large dwarf woman came by and introduced herself as Mia.

Mia "So you are the one responsible for Syr going hungry in the morning."

Bell "Oh I am sorry about that. I did not realize that she had no other food"

Mia "Well you need to make it up by ordering lots of food"

With the apparent strength in Mia, Bell was not about to argue with earnings including the minotaur's magic stone. And he wanted to make Syr happy so he order a large pasta dish and a chicken dish. He was actually very hungry. When the chicken came, he gobbled it up quickly as it was really good. And the pasta dish was tangy and tasty even as Bell was starting to be full.

When he was almost done with his pasta, a large group came into the restaurant. The girl with the blonde hair and golden eyes were in the group. Remember Eina's warning, Bell did not approach the large group. He did not want to be outnumbered. The group quickly sat down at a large table reserved for them and quickly ordered a huge feast. The leader seemed to be a thin stick lady with red hair and no boobs. There were also a pallum with golden hair, a pretty elf with long green hair, 2 hot amazons wearing very little, a werewolf male who was a loud mouth, and a large dwarf male. They were celebrating something, but the werewolf suddenly started to talk very loudly

Excited werewolf "Hey Ais, tell us the story of that tomato kid in the dungeon"

Ais "Bete, there is nothing to tell"

Werewolf "But that useless kid had to be saved by you and mino blood was all over him lol lol lol"

Elf lady "Bete, it was our fault that the minotaur reached the 5th floor. Have more respect"

Werewolf "Old hag, shut up. That kid was pathetic and does not belong in the dungeon"

Werewolf "And that tomato brat just sat there like an idiot. Wait, Ais, now why did you run away like a frighten rabbit yourself? Was he that ugly?"

Ais "Have more respect. I am not talking to you"

Werewolf "Tell me, who wags your tail. That useless tomato brat or me. If you have to choose, who will it be that will stand by your side?"

That was all Bell could take. Eina or not, he was not going to take that abuse. Bell gets up and walks to their table. The first class adventurers quickly noticed someone heading towards them.

Ais "..." recognizing the boy who kissed her.

Werewolf "Is that the tomato brat? lol lol lol"

Elf "Ais, do you know him"

Ais "That is the person who was in the dungeon. I do not know him"

Bell to Werewolf "I am the person you are talking about behind my back. What have I done to make you insult me in such a fashion"

Elf stood up "We are sorry. He is just drunk"

The werewolf stood up and smacked Bell with a hard slap "Trash needs to know its place", the smack from the 1st class adventurer knocked Bell across the room against the wall. That knocked him out. The violent act got the members of the group very angry. They beat the werewolf up before tying him up. Meanwhile, the elf attended to the unconscious Bell.

Ais "OMG, did we kill him?" as the elf used a healing spell.

Elf "No, he is alive but have a cracked rib or two from the impact. His neck muscle is probably severely strained but the healing spell should help with that. He probably has a concussion."

Ais "That horrible Bete is impossible"

Pallum "Bete, you have gone too far acting like some type of criminal"

Red hair woman "We will have to punish Bete severely for injuring a low-level helpless person. This is uncivilized thug behavior"

As the elf treated Bell with more healing spells, she had Ais put Bell's head on her lap to improve his recovery. As the healing worked, Bell finally woke up.

Bell thought "My head feels much better. I have a nice soft pillow..."

Bell thought "Wait, what are those huge maternal items above my head..."

Bell thought "Mom?"

Ais "No I am not your mom"

Bell "Goddess?"

Ais "I am not your goddess"

Bell finally realized who it was...

Bell "Oh it is my pretty angel with golden hair and golden eyes. It is such a privilege to wake up to such a beautiful sight"

Elf smiled "I think he is feeling better"

Blushing Ais "How are you feeling?"

Bell "I am better now."

Elf "Young man, I apologize on behalf of the Loki familia"

Bell "That is fine. It is not your fault"

Elf "But we are responsible for our members. Bete the werewolf was rude and hit you illegally. We apologize again."

Ais "I am sorry too that Bete hit you like that."

Bell "I will be up on my feet soon", sitting up as he spoke.

Elf "We would like to make it up to you. I hope 100,000 valis would be fair compensation for your pain and suffering"

Bell "The money is a generous offer, but I rather have another type of compensation", looking at Ais.

Embarrassed Ais fearing the worst "What is the compensation you would like?"

Bell winked "A kiss with you", shocking everyone in the group including the werewolf who was gagged and tied up.

Tomato red Ais nodded "Alright"

Bell leaned in and claimed her lips before anyone else had a chance to stop the kiss.

The kiss was soft, tender, and they both closed their eyes. The kiss lasted a short period, but long enough to be meaningful. As Bell finished the kiss, Ais got incredibly flustered and ran away from the restaurant like a frightened rabbit.

Bell and the elf looked at each other with Bell looking puzzled at why Ais ran away.

Elf "She will be fine, but she is just embarrassed. You claimed her first kiss"

Though Bell wanted to tell her it was the third kiss, but he thought the better of it.

Elf "Well we are indeed sorry for what happened. But you have claimed your prize so I hope we are even. However, if you should have trouble in the future, feel free to come to us at the Loki familia for assistance. I am Riveria."

Bell bowed "I am Bell. It is nice to meet an elf who is wise, beautiful and kind", making Riveria's heart skip a beat...

With that, the Loki familia members paid and ran after Ais who ran away at top speed.

Mia and Syr watched the entire episode and were completely shocked that Bell was knocked unconscious and then got to kiss the famous Sword Princess, who became so shy and embarrassed that she ran away at top speed.

After paying for dinner, Bell went back home with his earnings of the day boosted by the minotaur. As Hestia gave him his status update, she was shocked.

Hestia "What happened today"

Bell "Not that much. I was chased by a minotaur. But I was saved by this hot blonde girl Ais Wallenstein. A member of her familia later attacked me, but I was healed by an elf from the familia named Riveria.

Hestia freaked out "Ais Wallenstein, the sword princess. Riveria Nine Hells. What have you done?"

Bell "Well a werewolf of their familia spoke ill of me. So I yelled at him. Then he proceeded to attack me and knocked me unconscious. But Riveria healed me."

Hestia "Do you know those are level 5 and level 6 adventurers? They can kill you with a single kick?"

Bell "Yes I thought that werewolf was about to kill me"

Hestia "That wolf's name is Bete. He is known to have a bad temper and a nasty disposition. Stay away from him."

Bell "That I definitely learned."

Hestia thought "So liaris freese, that must been brought on by what happened. I should not tell him as he does not look like he can keep it secret. However he has extremely strong feelings for someone"

Hestia "Bell, there is something you did not tell me. What else happened between you and these adventurers?"

Bell "What do you mean"

Hestia "Did something happened beyond the attack and the healing"

Bell "Well they apologize for attacking me and offered me compensation?"

Happy Hestia "What compensation did you receive"

Bell "A kiss from Ais", causing Hestia to faint...


	2. Chapter 2

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Mourning and Recovery**

\- At the Hestia Home -

It took a while before Hestia recovered from fainting. When Bell copied what Ais did with the lap pillow, it appeared to help as Hestia had more color to her cheeks. Then he started petting her long black silky hair, and that seemed to even help further. It was be grossly untrue to say Bell did not think about taking some liberties with such feminine charm in front of him. However, an image of the girl with the golden eyes and blonde hair kept cropping up in his thoughts, purifying them. Eventually, Hestia opened her eyes and realized that she was receiving a lap pillow. As her hair was being petted, it was super embarrassing even though it felt really special. Realizing the therapeutic advantages from a lap pillow, she could not blame Bell for making such a forward move. But with each petting stroke, the redder she became until she could not contain herself with the enjoyment any further. Finally she got up to talk to her 'child'.

Hestia "Bell, you kissed Ais Wallenstein?"

Bell "Yes and it was incredible. I would say I highly recommend it, but she is all mine."

Hestia ignored his embellishment "In front of the executives from the Loki Familia?"

Bell "I only know the name of the Riveria the elf lady. There was also a blonde pallum, 2 amazon girls that showed a lot of skin and a large dwarf beyond the annoying werewolf jerk. Oh yes, there was a skinny red hair lady with no boobs."

The mention of the goddess with no boobs brought a smile to Hestia's face, as Loki and Hestia did not get along in heaven. However, offending all those powerful people all at once was pure madness.

Hestia "Did Ais Wallenstein allowed you to kiss her?"

Bell "Yes she did and said so. Then Riveria was nice to me after the kiss, indicating that Ais was only embarrassed when she ran away at warp speed"

Further surprised with Bell receiving permission, Hestia "They were fine with you kissing Ais? You do realize 1000 suitors have chased Ais Wallenstein with no success, and Loki the goddess is extremely protective of Ais herself?"

Bell confidently responded "I have no idea, but that was actually not even our first kiss. I guess Ais has good taste and finds my rabbit likeness cute"

Hestia noted the remarkable self confidence in her child "How many times have you kissed Ais Wallenstein"

Bell "That was the 3rd time. I kissed her twice for saving me", making Hestia want to faint again.

Hestia "Tell me the truth about when you kissed her the first time"

Being forced to tell the truth, Bell explained how she saved him and how he kissed her out of nowhere, and then a second time before she melted down and ran away. And then accidentally meeting her at the pub before getting permission for the 3rd kiss.

Hestia "How rude. You just kissed a girl without introducing yourself. Then a second time. So you embarrassed her so badly that she ran away. Then you propositioned her in front of her entire familia. Then the third kiss in front of everyone she knew was so embarrassing that she ran away again! Bell-kun, how can you be so rude and crass. I am not raising you right if you are so brazen with a girl!"

Bell thought that the blunt analysis from Hestia was fair. It did put a pause in Bell's step. He knew he was really brazen in kissing a girl without introducing himself. But he had to act when he did. He had to take the shoot at his dream girl. But now, he must properly introducing himself and apologize for embarrassing her. He committed to that in his mind.

Hestia thought "I am too late. Far too late. He is now obsessed with Ais Wallenstein. That is where the liaris freese skill came from. I have no chance now, but I am so jealous. I AM SO INCREDIBLY JEALOUS!"

But Hestia had to do her job and guide him, and he definitely needed guidance with the rare skill that is making him grow by leaps and bounds.

Thus Hestia showed Bell his stats sheet that showed a huge improvement after she got rid of the liaris freese line. That increase shocked Bell, but Hestia quickly silenced him.

Hestia "We need to talk about your growth. Currently you are in somewhat of a growth spurt. You are improving quickly because you have talent, but dont push it too far. Please dont leave me alone!"

Bell "Goddess, I promise not to leave you alone."

Inside though, Bell was incredibly determined to show everyone. He wanted to be worthy of Ais Wallenstein, and to do that, he had to catch up to her level and become her hero instead of being saved like a little boy. He is also going to shut up annoying people like Bete that looked down on him.

Hestia was in a foul mood for the rest of the evening, and went out with a huge pout after finding out all the details. Not only has she lost the first kiss, second kiss and third kiss. She realized she lost the chance for getting the first kiss because she tried to play hard to get during all those nights. Instead of some tender loving and being first in line, now she has to play catch up and catching up will be very difficult against that rare rare skill. Oh life sucks!

At home, Bell decided he was going to apologize to Ais. But he was not yet worthy of her. He had to at least reach her level before he is worthy. Or at least a level 3. Even with his fast growth, it is going to take time. But he cannot keep that girl waiting. What is he going to do. He has to at least apologize. Suddenly, a light bulb went on and he had the perfect solution. He will send her flowers to apologize, and he will add a note with the flowers that tells her to wait for him to grow. That is his brilliant solution. The rest would be to work like a crazed lunatic and grow as fast as possible.

\- At the Loki Home -

It was a time of mourning at the Twilight Manor. The news of Ais' kiss spread like wildfire among the familia members, probably even faster than throughout Orario. It was utter total devastation for many.

Loki, the goddess, was crying in her room, to the point she could not sleep at all. Her favorite did not pick her but instead accepted a level 1 boy. The visual of Ais consenting to be kissed kept playing in her mind over and over and over and over and over again. Ais submitted to his bold advances in front of everyone. It was almost like her wedding vows. Oh it really really hurt.

Lefiya, who had special feelings for Ais, found out and almost went to hunt down the rabbit boy herself before being admonished by the senior executives. She had to swear to all that was holy to her elf heritage that she would not abuse her power like Bete did. No thug behavior just because of her adventurer skills. However, the thought of Ais in someone else's arms, submitting to tender kisses, was destroying her from the inside. Her proud elf ears drooped. Her spirit vanquished. Her prospects non-existent.

Bete, who was finally sober, now realized why Ais ran away in the dungeon. The rabbit boy must have also had his way with Ais in the dungeon. His dream girl has now been kissed by someone else, probably multiple times. And she agreed to be kissed in front of everyone! And Bete himself may have contributed to Ais' submission to this young male. His heart hurt so badly. Some monster may as well have scooped his heart out and feasted on his body. He is a dead man walking.

A lot of the males in the familia were also in mourning. Everyone hated on the boy, but yet this inexperienced level 1 managed to do something no one has done in the history of Orario. The foul mood had completely taken over most of the familia.

While the sad faces were abound, there were also those who were pleased with what happened.

Riveria, the adoptive momma, was pleased that Ais finally showed some emotions normal for a girl of her age, instead of the insane obsession with getting stronger.

Finn, the leader pallum, was also pleased like a father to see Ais finally developing as a girl, and that feeling was shared by Gareth, the dwarf, who also wanted Ais to have more in her life other than the dungeon.

The amazon sisters, Tiona and Tione, were also happy for their sister.

Together with Riveria, Tiona and Tione went to check in on Ais who was hiding in her room. The teasing was intense to the point that Ais hid her head under the pillow. They wanted to know her feelings, what the kiss felt like, does she want more kisses, when is she going on a date, when is the wedding, how many kids they are going to have. Indeed, it got so bad that Ais almost activated her killer technique, ariel, inside her room to punish her sisters and momma. With the red line in the sand drawn, the three conspirators ran for their life.

\- The Morning After -

The sun came up even though many had doubts. The birds were singing. Eventually all the main players woke up.

Hestia had plans as it was the day for Denatus. Having made up her mind to fight for Bell's feelings, she decided it was time she did something to help Bell get stronger. Thus she told Bell that she will be gone for 2-3 days and that he had to take care of his own dinner.

Bell woke up and he had a lot to do. He had to send the flower and also go to the dungeon. After a trip to the florist, he headed to the Babel. There was a pallum supporter girl named Lili he wanted to meet with for going into the dungeon as a party. She was particularly nice after he saved her from some mean adventurers. As Bell walked, he felt the gaze of someone who he did not know, but he just assumed that he is too cute for females not to stare... When Bell got to the Babel, Lili was indeed waiting at a fountain. Together they went into the dungeon with the situation feeling like a date.

Ais woke up after dreaming about what happened with the rabbit boy. She has been kissed 3 times but she does not even know the boy's name. While the mystery added to the intrigue, she was going crazy with all the weird feelings her heart and stomach were experiencing. Never having been on a date, it felt like her teenage years and hormones all arrived at the same time.

When Ais went to the dining area, Riveria, Lefiya, Tiona and Tione were sitting together at a table. Ais went to join them in her usual seat. Riveria, Tiona and Tione all had smiles on their faces, but they also did not dare cross said red line that was drawn in the sand yesterday. Lefiya was too depressed to say anything with her elf ears still drooping badly. Thus the group ate without saying much and the atmosphere was tense.

At another table was Bete, who was suffering from a throbbing headache, but the sight of the sword princess just reminded him of his failure to land the girl of his dreams. Instead, a newbie had the courage and daring managed to land her lips without a single date.

At a table by a corner, there were Loki, Finn and Gareth. Loki was still sad about Ais, while Finn and Gareth tried to keep her mind on a different topic. However Loki was unable to focus on work when Ais walked in. The jilted feelings had a devastating effect on the trickster goddess, and her bag of tricks were no match for Ais' feelings that have been usurped by a young boy.

Suddenly during breakfast, the florist came into the dining area carrying 2 dozen roses. As everyone watched wondering what was going on, the florist walked around looking for someone. Then finally, the roses were presented to Ais, shocking everyone. After thanking the florist, Ais took the roses and read an attached note. After reading the note, Ais blushed badly and fainted and had to be supported by Tiona and Tione.

Riveria "I am afraid to ask"

Tiona took the note and read it out loud "To Ms. Ais Wallenstein. I want to introduce myself. My name is Bell Cranel. I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday in being so forward as to kiss you inside the dungeon without permission and without introducing myself. I hope you will forgive my behavior because your beauty and grace have completely captured my heart and I now cannot stop thinking about you. However, as your colleague has mentioned, I am not worthy of you at this time as I am a beginning adventurer. So I will work my hardest in order to be worthy of being by your side. I hope you will accept these roses both as my appreciation for saving me and as an expression straight from my heart that you have forever captured. Yours truly, Bell Cranel."

Riveria "Well that would do it" as clearly Cupid's arrow has hit its mark

Tiona and Tione swooned "Wow, we are in love with this boy. How bold!"

Things could not have gotten worse for Lefiya as the bold boy has yet achieved another first. Making Miss Ais faint from emotional overload while earning praise from Riveria, Tiona and Tione.

Loki who came overheard the reading of the note. The trickster goddess was speechless again, not knowing what can be said.

By that time, Ais woke up and was hugged by Tiona and Tione. They were so excited for her.

Tiona suddenly realized "But it is going to take years for him to catch up if it is even possible"

Tione "Ais, dont wait. Go get your man!", visibly causing a look of determination on the face of the sword princess.

Ais then thought about it and realized it was ridiculous to expect a level 1 can catch up to a level 5. She then realized that Tione was right and she needed to grab her hero who captured her heart, even if she is much stronger!

Ais "I dont know what to do. He wants to be caught up and denying him that opportunity would be unfair. But what if he gets hurt in the dungeon? What can I do?"

The wise Riveria interjected "Lets do some research into this Bell Cranel. To bad he is not in our familia or we can provide him some protection", getting everyone's agreement though Lefiya and Loki felt like someone had just taken away their love of their life.

At the end of breakfast, Ais, Tione, Tione and Lefiya decided to go shopping while the momma would start doing some research into Bell Cranel. Ais, who usually preferred to go to the dungeon, suddenly wanted some new clothes. The other girls agreed to go along, but they were amazed in the sudden change in Ais. This was the same girl who had multiple copies of the same white and blue dress. Now she wanted to add some variety to her wardrobe. Yes, spring was in the air.

\- In the Dungeon -

Bell and Lili got all the way down to the 7th floor. A party of two was much capable than soloing the dungeon. So Bell and Lili were able to collect a lot of magic stones. Having a good time, Bell played with Lili's fluffy ears, which made her react strongly as the area was very sensitive. Complaining a little, Lili whined a bit about Bell's bold action, making him realized he better not start something he did not want to finish. Indeed the thoughts of a girl with golden eyes and long blonde hair kept cropping up.

At the end of the day, they returned to the surface. With Hestia gone off for her party, Bell went to dinner at the Hostess pub while Lili had some personal matters to handle. At the pub, Syr and Mia were happy to see Bell, but several of the other waitress were talking about the playboy who have captured Syr's attention. In particular, as Syr sat with Bell during dinner, a cute elf named Ryuu was watching Bell like a hawk to figure out if his intentions were honorable. Later on, Syr did wave to the elf for her to sit with them for dessert and properly introducing Bell and Ryuu.

\- The Next Day -

It was another dungeon date. Bell met Lili at the same place, and they made it to the 8th floor this time. Their team work got better and better and they made more and more money. Despite the urge to play with Lili's ears, the thought of the girl with the golden hair and golden eyes reminded Bell to refrain from irresponsible behavior.

When they walked back to the surface, they saw monsters being transported in cages to the surface. Bell was surprised at such an activity, but Lili explained that tomorrow was monsterphilia, where monster taming is part of the show at Orario's colosseum. In fact, Lili had some plans relating to the monsterphilia the next day. Afterwards, they went their separate ways as they split the money.

Bell ate by himself again at the Hostess, and Syr came to chat with him. Later on, a beautiful elf with green hair came to Bell's table.

Elf "May I join you?"

Bell was surprised and got up "Lady Riveria, please join me and it is my pleasure"

Riveria smiled at the boy to set him at ease "Well you made quite an impression with those roses yesterday."

Bell was embarrassed but he really needed to ask "Did Ais like those roses"

Riveria "Yes she did. But she does not know I am talking to you."

Bell "I am so happy that she liked them"

Riveria "She does, but you are trying to do the impossible"

That statement almost broke Bell's heart as he thought Riveria meant he is not worthy of Ais.

Riveria saw the disappointment in Bell's face and quickly clarified "What I mean is that it is almost impossible for a level 1 to catch up to a level 5. Also I am worry about you as the dungeon is a dangerous place"

Riveria's comments gave Bell a lot of hope as it is clear that Riveria is here because she knows that Ais likes Bell.

Riveria "So I want to help you with your goals. I looked into your familia and it is clear that you have no training How about if I train you?"

Bell was shocked "Wow really. I don't know how to thank you for such a generous offer"

Riveria "I want to help. So meet me every morning at 7 sharp at the city walls in the area near the Twilight Manor. And lets start tomorrow if you are able", giving Bell a map.

Bell bowed "Thank you lady Riveria. I will see you tomorrow at 7"

Riveria "Well, I should get going" and paying for the meal before leaving, making Bell embarrassed.

\- The Next Morning -

Bell met with Riveria on the city walls at 7am sharp. Riveria agreed to train Bell for 2 hours per day despite her heavy schedule.

Riveria "Well, come at me with your knife, let's see what you got"

And come at her he did, but to be repeatedly bashed in the head with her staff.

The training consisted of teaching about defense, proper ways to use the knife, some strategy and then simply sparring. To Riveria's shock, she could literally see the boy's progress during the 2 hour session. He was clearly improved at the end of the session in obvious ways. She may have a prodigy on her hands with talent significantly exceeding that of her best pupil Ais Wallenstein...


	3. Chapter 3

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

Leo de Cielo - sorry no spoilers for you

CORRUPTO - glad you like it

mudassari - here is part 3 for you

Mann86 - just thought of this twist with Bell the Brave

Marshall Cross Marian - yes Bell the Brave at our service

**Total Defeat**

The two hours of training with Riveria helped a lot. She greatly improved Bell's defense and knife technique. He learned about strategy and tactics. Riveria was amazed by Bell's progress. By the end, he started fighting like a mid-level 1, which is a big improvement from where he started. She could actually see Bell gaining ground on Ais, though 5 levels is still unthinkable. At the end of the 2 hours, Riveria had to go but there was something she wanted to do.

Riveria "Bell, you now have captured the heart of my adopted daughter. You do realize that if something were to happen to you, she will be devastated and may never recover from heartbreak. So you are fighting for her as well as yourself. You need to take responsibility by protecting yourself. Am I perfectly clear."

Something Riveria said really hit Bell. Yes he started something that he could not finish. It was wrong. He should have considered how weak he is and now the heart of the beautiful girl is also at risk.

Riveria "I do not mean to be stern, but I am here to help you. I can tell you that others in my familia also want to see you succeed. When I am busy, one of the amazon sisters may train you in my place. Also, please accept what I brought for you because you are now fighting for us as well as yourself", showing him a high class dagger.

Bell bowed "How I can accept such a gift? This looks very expensive"

Riveria "It is expensive, but remember what you are fighting for now. We need you live and prosper"

Understanding the logic, Bell bowed again, thanked Riveria as he accepted her dagger.

Riveria then had to go, and it was time for Bell to get his breakfast before heading to the dungeon.

As Bell walked towards the Hostess, a cat girl waitress ran up to him holding a wallet.

Cat girl "Bell, Syr left her wallet here by mistake, and she headed to the monsterphilia with no money. Please find her and give it to her"

Bell was surprised and confused by the cat girl's accent. Then the elf Ryuu came up to him after taking the wallet from the cat girl.

Ryuu "Cranel-san, Syr went to the monsterphilia. She forgot to bring her wallet so she has no money. Could you please go there and find her. We have work here so we cannot go. Thank you very much"

With the explanation, Bell understood "Dont worry, I will find Syr" taking the wallet from Ryuu.

Not understanding elves, he used one hand to receive the wallet and his other hand took Ryuu's hand when he spoke, shocking the elf. He then started running towards the colosseum, leaving Ryuu with a special feeling in her heart as no man has ever taken her hand...

As Bell ran around town, he again felt someone's gaze on him, but yet again, he thought his super cuteness made it impossible for girls to not stare ...

Instead of finding Syr, he ran into Hestia who grabbed onto Bell to go to the monsterphilia. Having to obey his goddess, Bell decided to look for Syr while he walked with Hestia.

A few minutes into their walk, they heard this loud roar from a monster. Realizing monsters will be at monsterphilia, they did not think much of it. Unfortunately, a large silverback suddenly jumped into their area and caused massive panic.

Bell "Wait, the monster is running free."

Hestia "Bell, we need to escape."

As they ran towards the Daedalius Street area, the monster cut off their escape and seemed to be focused on them instead of anyone else. Bell instantly took out his new dagger to defend. However the monster was too strong whipping its chains around. Bell was knocked against the wall, but the monster started chasing Hestia.

Realizing it was Hestia that the monster is after, Bell got up and ran to protect his goddess. With Hestia being its focus, Bell was able to injured the monster with his new dagger, drawing a lot of blood. That angered the monster, which started chasing Bell again. After a short battle, Bell was hit against the wall again even with his sharp dagger doing more damage. Realizing he was too weak to win, Bell escaped a chain strike and quickly carried a delighted Hestia in a princess carry to run away using his rabbit speed. By running into a narrow passageway, they were able to gain some distance from the monster.

Hestia "Bell, let me update your status. You can get stronger and give us a fighting chance against the monster"

Bell "Now as we are running?"

Hestia "I can do it quickly so just let me down for now"

Bell then stopped and took off his shirt while Hestia quickly used a dagger she carried to get a drop of her blood. She was amazed with Bell's improvement.

Quickly finishing, Hestia "Done, what have you been doing, your status went up by more than a combined 2000 points in 3 days!"

Bell "I am not sure but I received some training from lady Riveria and received this sharp dagger"

Hestia "What?", considering whether the Loki was trying to steal away her 1st and only child.

However, the status update gave Bell a charge of power as he felt much stronger than prior to the update.

strength - 480

endurance - 463

agility - 591

dexterity - 454

magic - 0

Interrupting their conversation, the monster roared again.

Hestia "I have also been busy getting you a new weapon - the Hestia Knife. This was made using my essence and is very strong. This will give you the chance to win against this monster and other monsters as it will grow with you", giving Bell a black dagger with special engravings.

Bell "Thank you Hestia sama", taking the dagger from Hestia.

Wielding dual daggers, Bell headed towards the silverback for a final confrontation. With his new speed and strength, he was able to attack the monster and stabbed it repeatedly. However, the silverback was still insanely strong and flinged its chains at Bell. However Bell defended with the Hestia knife, which broke the chains. Following the teachings of Eina and Riveria, he attacked the monster's weak spot - its magic stone. Once the Hestia knife was stabbed into the magic stone, the monster turned into dust. With victory, the residents of Daedalius Street cheered them on.

With a large crowd gathered, Hestia suddenly fainted. Worried to death, Bell carried her and looked for a place for Hestia to rest. As he walked through the crowd, he did not see Loki and Ais standing nearby. Seeing Bell princess carrying the beautiful big boob Hestia, tears ran down Ais' face.

Seeing teary Ais, Loki could not stomach it "Ais, that is Bell's goddess. Stop crying. OMG I have an emo teenager!"

Ais pouted "I am sorry Loki. I could not help myself", stabbing Loki in the heart again...

\- From a High Location -

The goddess Freya enjoyed the battle enormously.

Freya smiled "You have impressed me and earned another test. Before that, you still need some help."

\- At the Hostess of Fertility pub -

Bell brought Hestia to the pub, and ran into Syr there.

Syr "What happened?"

Bell "The goddess fainted from the battle"

Syr "Take her upstairs. There are rooms with beds for her to rest", which Bell did.

After setting Hestia down on the bed and covering her with blankets, Bell went downstairs to thank Syr and give her the wallet.

Bell "Thank you, she is resting comfortably now. I hope she can wake up soon"

Mia "Don't worry, she can stay there as long as she needs"

Syr "I feel bad that the goddess was injured because of me"

Bell "It is not your fault, but now I will attend to her"

Watching the entire episode was Ryuu, who was impressed with the way Bell acted. He may be a playboy, but still a cute and responsible one...

After a couple hours, Syr brought water and food to Bell as he took care of Hestia. Ryuu came up with Syr and was again impressed with Bell's earnestness. Finally, by dinner time, Hestia woke up and was feeling better. Bell then helped Hestia down the stairs, and they shared dinner with Syr and Ryuu joining them part of the meal.

It was a good meal, but Hestia was quite 'protective' with 2 pretty girls hanging around her Bell-kun. Ever perceptive, Syr teased Hestia a bit, but Ryuu did not join in.

Confident Syr "Bell-kun, I did not realize you have such a pretty goddess"

Bel "Yes, I respect her greatly and she just made me a new weapon!", showing the Hestia Knife.

Syr and Ryuu looked at the weapon and were impressed.

Ryuu "This is not a normal weapon"

Hestia "It definitely is not normal. I did 3 days of dogeza to get it"

Bell "Is it from Hephaestus herself, how expensive is it?"

Hestia "That is my secret but my gift to my child!"

Syr "Lady Hestia, what do these runes mean?"

Hestia "Well, the knife has my hair in it so it will grow with Bell" shocking Ryuu and Syr.

Syr "That means the knife is alive!", which confused Bell.

Ryuu "Hard to believe that Hephaestus made such a weapon"

Hestia "Yes, 3 days of dogeza was needed. There is nothing I would not do for my Bell-kun", giving Bell a hug.

Hestia's sudden clingy behavior was a surprised to Bell. Indeed, if she would have been so touchy all those nights, Bell shuttered to think what would have happened...

\- At the Twilight Manor -

In their private dining room, Loki, Riveria, Finn and Gareth had their dinner together.

Loki "I saw the end of the battle between young Bell Cranel and a silverback."

Finn "Really, Bete said he was a total amateur completely scared of a minotaur"

Riveria "I gave him some training this morning. His progress was astounding. I would say he is a mid 1st level now. I could literally see his growth during 2 hours of training"

Gareth "That sounds like quite a talent. I would like to see it for myself"

Loki rolled her eyes "And Ais teared up seeing him carrying his loli goddess around. I had to tell her that was her goddess"

Finn "That must have hurt Loki lol", stabbing Loki in the heart again.

Loki "Ouch Finn that was not nice"

Riveria "Loki, you need to allow Ais to grow. This is much better than insane dives into the dungeon to get stronger"

Finn "I want to understand how he is getting stronger again"

Riveria "He had no training. No understanding of strategy and tactics. I taught him the basics, which he immediately picked up. He learned much faster than Ais"

That raised everyone's eyebrows as Ais is the current record holder.

Riveria "According to Eina, he started adventuring about 2 weeks ago. My estimate of his current level is a mid level 1, which is almost inconceivable"

Loki "Well, that is an estimate. It is hard to believe."

Riveria "Well I train him again tomorrow. The more time I spend with him, the more I can be sure"

Finn "May be I will tag along and assess him for myself"

Riveria "If you want to train him, then I will instead make that trip to the dungeon with Ais. You can find him on the city walls at 7am close to the Twilight Manor."

Finn "That sounds good"

Gareth "If Ais is so smitten with the young man, what happens if he gets hurt or worse in the dungeon?"

Riveria "I already gave him a new weapon and that is why we are training him"

Gareth "Lol, you are way ahead of me"

Loki "Wow, we are basically adopting the shrimp's child..."

Loki thinking some more "May be it is time I have a talk with the shrimp"

Finn "Loki, lets wait on that. Let us first study what this young boy is capable of"

Loki nodding in agreement "Wow, what we would not do for our little princess..."

\- At the Hestia Home -

Hestia thanked Bell again for saving her, and decided to give him an update to see the effect from defeating the silverback. She was shocked with the update as Bell could level if he achieved a level worthy act:

strength - 627

endurance - 595

agility -768

dexterity - 583

magic -0

\- The Next Morning -

Bell went to meet Riveria on the city walls, but was surprised that a pallum with golden hair was there instead.

Finn "Bell, do not be alarmed. My name is Finn Deimne, the captain of the Loki familia. I am also the adoptive father of Ais, so I am substituting for Riveria today."

Bell "It is my pleasure to meet you, Finn-sama"

Finn "I am happy to meet you. I heard you defeated a silverback yesterday. That is quite impressive."

Bell "I did, but it was thanks to Riveria sama's training and the weapon that she so graciously provided me"

Finn "Good, lets spar a little. You can use your weapon", using a wooden rod himself instead of his spear.

Bell then took out both his daggers in a dual wielding mode.

The first surprise was that the wooden rod was cut into 2 by the Hestia Knife, causing Finn to take a closer look at the knife and the runes on it.

Finn "Quite a knife. Bell, where did you get this from?"

Bell "My goddess gave it to me yesterday. She said she put a hair in it and it will grow with me", shocking Finn who realized that the knife is alive.

With the rod destroyed, Finn went back to his spear but used the blunt end for sparring.

With a bit more sparring, Finn realized that Bell was fighting like an advanced level 1. His attacks still needed work, but he could handle himself quite well. Of course, Bell was no match for Finn, who whacked him on the head many times and disarmed him several times.

Each time Bell was defeated, Finn gave him some instruction. After half an hour, they took a break for Bell to use some recovery potions.

Finn "Bell, when did you start to adventure?"

Bell "About 2 weeks ago"

Impossible was Finn's first thought.

Finn "When did you meet your goddess and received your falna?"

Bell "About the same time"

Finn "Bell, you are fighting like an advanced level 1. That is quite amazing. I am extremely impressed"

Bell "I have a long way to go to where I want to be"

Finn smirked "And where do you want to be?", making Bell blush.

Bell "... well I want to be worthy of standing by Ais your incredible daughter"

Finn "Well, that is a worthy goal. But dont you think it is asking a lot for Ais to wait a long time and worry about you"

Bell understood what Finn meant "I am trying my best, but what would you suggest that I do?"

Finn "Don't worry right now. Let's improve your skills first and then talk in a couple weeks. But I would want you to be careful in the dungeon and not over do it"

Bell "I shall. Thank you for your advice"

After the 2 hours of training, Finn continued to be impressed. Now Finn has experienced what Riveria mentioned. Bell 's growth can be seen during only two hours of training. He could see it with his own eyes. Bell's improvement in his dagger use, strategy, tactic and defense were visibly better after the training. In particular, his dual wielding technique improved greatly after proper instruction.

After thanking Finn and a couple recovery potions, Bell went to meet Lili at the Babel. Together, they went into the dungeon trying to earn money and gain experience.

\- In the Dungeon -

Bell and Lili went all the way to the 9th floor. The improvements in Bell and his new weapons made things easy. Even Lili could detect Bell's improvement after 2 days. She also seemed to be quite interested in the black knife with the black runes...

By mid afternoon, they decided they made enough money and headed back to the surface. After splitting money, Bell headed to home for some food, but suddenly realized he lost the Hestia knife!

\- Near the Hostess -

Ryuu and Syr were taking a stroll when they saw the pallum girl supporter that they have seen with Bell. What surprised Ryuu was that she was holding Bell's knife. Suspicious about that, Ryuu made an excuse and followed Lili for a short while before coming up with an excuse to run into Lili.

Ryuu "Oh, you are Bell Cranel's friend?"

Lili "Yes"

Surprised Ryuu "Why do you have his special knife?"

Lili "..."

Ryuu looking scary "I think you better give me the knife and remember that his friends would be upset if Bell is taken advantage of"

Lili then handed the knife over before Ryuu allowed her to leave. As Ryuu walked back to the Hostess, she luckily ran into Bell who was in a panic looking everywhere for the knife.

Ryuu "I saw this on the ground earlier and thought that it may yours"

Seeing the knife, Bell bowed and thanked Ryuu a thousand times. He knew Hestia sacrificed a lot for the knife and he had to make sure to take better care of the treasured item. He insisted on treating Ryuu for dinner so they headed for the Hostess.

\- At the Hostess -

Bell again insisted on buying dinner for Ryuu, and of course Syr joined them. They talked a lot about Bell's past. Bell told them about his grandfather, how much his grandfather took care of him, read story books together, taught him how to fight, and how his grandfather disappeared...

They also asked him about Ais, and he came clean about his feelings for her. They were shocked that Bell sent roses to the Twilight Manor. Bell kept the training confidential, but Syr and Ryuu were sure that the roses were the reason that Riveria sat down with Bell for dinner.

Syr "Does Riveria approve of you and Ais?"

Bell "Yes thank Hestia that she does", causing some disappointment.

Ryuu "Will that werewolf keep causing you trouble?"

Bell "He was punished and he had to promise never to do that again"

Syr "So why does it seem that you are not dating Ais"

Bell "Well I am not worthy enough currently. So I asked her to wait for me in a note with the roses. That is why I am working hard to catch up to her", earning more respect from Ryuu.

Puzzled Ryuu "But she is level 5"

Bell "Well that is why I must work day and night"

Syr "Oh it is so romantic..."

Ryuu "Well Bell-san, I wish you success in your love", sounding a bit sad despite being impressed.

At that time, Mia called Ryuu over for some help, leaving Bell alone with Syr.

Syr "You said you like books. Take a look at that one on the shelf. A customer left it so you can borrow it"

Bell "Really?", as he went to take the book.

Syr smiled "You can borrow it for now and return it when you are done"

Bell "Thanks", at that point, Mia also called Syr over.

Syr "Bell, please wait a couple minutes. Why dont you read the book while you are waiting and tell me what you think?"

Bell smiled "Sure I can do that", opening the book. As he read, the book was almost talking to him. About magic and what magic is and what magic is to him. After a while, Bell fell asleep, only to be waken up by Syr and Mia.

Syr "I am sorry I was gone for so long"

Bell "Oh wow I fell asleep reading the book", looking at the book which was now blank!

Bell "What happened to the book, it has no words left?"

Mia leaved through the book and saw it had no writing anywhere.

Mia "Must be a defective book", and threw it into the garbage.

Seeing that Bell was still a little sleepy, Syr offered a room upstairs for him to rest, but Bell decided to walk home after paying for dinner.

\- At the Hestia Home -

When Bell arrived, Hestia was already there, having finished work at the potato stand.

Hestia "Bell-kun, where were you?"

Bell "Oh I was having dinner with Syr and Ryuu"

Hestia "Oh so Bell forgot about his goddess chasing pretty girls?", making Bell sweat as Hestia has shifted to a possessive mode.

Seeing Bell was nervous, Hestia let him off the hook "Ok, lets update your status and see what you have gained today"

The status shocked Hestia even more.

strength - 691

endurance - 658

agility - 840

dexterity - 634

magic - 0

Magic - firebolt

Hestia "You gained a lot of excelia and now you have magic"

Bell "Magic? I have magic?"

Hestia "I don't know how this is possible but you have a spell called firebolt. It is even a short chant magic. But you should wait to try it in the dungeon tomorrow. Just say the name firebolt but wait till you are in the dungeon.

Bell was extremely excited, but they went to sleep. Of course, he sneaked out of the home in the middle of the night. On the second floor, he tried out the magic, and the instant fire magic ignited out of his hand to kill off a helpless kobold. Then Bell used it again and again and again and again and again... Until he got dizzy and fell onto the ground from a mind zero.

As a number of kobolds gathered around the unconscious Bell, 2 adventures fortunately came by. Incredibly, it was Riveria and Ais on their way back to the surface.

Riveria "Look, someone has fallen"

Ais yelled "It is Bell!" and rushed up to take out a number of kobold." while Riveria checked on Bell.

Riveria "He is fine. He apparently overused his magic"

Ais "He has magic?"

Riveria "Apparently he has magic now"

Riveria "Well, he needs to rest and a lap pillow will help"

Ais defended with an excuse "But he does not want to be by my side until he catches up"

Smiling Riveria "I guess I can give him my lap and pet his hair"

Defeated, Ais put Bell's head on her lap while enjoying stroking his white hair which also controlled her black flames.

Victorious Riveria winked "I am going back now, so you take care of him"

Blushing Ais "But I have not been even introduced. I don't know what to say. It is embarrassing"

Riveria smiled "You two need to figure it out. It is not as if he did not send you two dozen beautiful roses. And you have put those roses in your room and even spent 30000 valis to encase them in magic so their never wilt."

Completely defeated, Ais stayed with Bell while petting his hair. A couple kobolds were stupid enough to approach but there were no other encounters that late in the dungeon.

As time passed, Ais wondered what she would do when Bell wakes up...


	4. Chapter 4

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

Defeated by Riveria, Ais stayed behind alone to give a lap pillow to help the unconscious mind zero Bell. Even though Ais was nervous and did not know what to say to Bell, Riveria told Ais to figure it out together with Bell. While sweating out the inevitable, Ais did enjoy Bell's pureness that soothed her black flames when stroking his hair.

After an hour or so, Bell started to wake up as Ais continued to stroke his hair. He opened his eyes and saw a familiar feminine form above him.

Bell "Mom?"

Ais "I am still not your mother"

Becoming a bit more awake, he noticed the feminine form had lots of holes and rips in a white dress revealing a lot of skin. Realizing that probably meant a tough battle by someone in a white dress, one person came immediately to mind.

Bell "Ais?"

Tomato red Ais "Yes it is me"

Bell "What happened? I got dizzy and then I am now on your lap again"

Tomato red Ais made an excuse "Riveria said you went mind zero from overuse of magic so I stayed to take care of you"

Bell "Oh I was trying out my new spell"

Tomato red Ais "Congrats on the magic, but you need to catch yourself if you feel mentally tired. Otherwise you can lose conscious which could be deadly. "

Sad Bell "Thank you again for saving me. I am so useless."

Tomato red Ais offered encouragement "You are not useless. You just did not know the limits of magic use"

Feeling better, naughty Bell smiled "It feels really good here. Do you want to make it even better?"

Tomato red Ais was afraid of the request "What is that?"

Naughty Bell smiled "How about giving me a kiss" causing Ais' heart to stop for a beat.

But unable to say no, she gave Bell a kiss as requested, making Bell very happy.

After the stimulation, Bell rose up so he could look Ais in the eyes "Thanks again"

Ais was too embarrassed to say anything. Not only that, but she could not look him in the eye and had a desperate urge to run away. As Bell watched the beautiful girl, it became clear that Ais wanted to say something as mini-Ais was pushing her to do act.

Bell "Was there something you wanted to say"

Tomato red Ais mumbled "I want you to do something for me"

Excited Bell "What is that? My beautiful princess"

Tomato red Ais pouted "Do you think you can relax your rule about catching up to me before spending time with me? I just bought some new clothes and I want to ... you know..." as mini-Ais celebrated inside doing cartwheels.

Embarrassed Bell was surprised how forward the girl has become, but he did not know what to say. He had started something he could not finish...

Tomato red Bell "But I am not worthy of being by your side"

As mini-Ais was making demands inside, tomato red Ais still looking down "But you already sent me roses and they look really good in my room. Dont you want to see them in my room? I don't want to wait..."

Seeing Ais' eyes were getting moist, Bell immediately relented "We can spend some time together, but I don't want to hurt your reputation."

As mini-Ais held firm, tomato red Ais "Everyone in Orario already knows. It is pointless to hide. And it does not matter to me"

Defeated Bell "Alright, then lets spend some time together, but please allow me a little time. How about 2 months? I promise I will work as hard as I can"

Bell secretly was calculating an insane estimate "Two weeks I am almost at level 2. Then I could be at level 4 in 2 months. Level 4 is much more respectable than level 1..."

Tomato red Ais accepted the proposal "Alright" then quickly gave Bell a kiss on the cheek.

Bell was in heaven. Flirting was good but the kisses were even better. He is going to get to see Ais' room soon, may be in 2 months. But then it was time to go back home...

Bell suggested "How about we go for a long kiss before going back?"

Super tomato red Ais could not answer but just nodded her head. Then Bell went for it. A deep deep long kiss that made both close their eyes. And he held her while they kissed so his hands were touching skin due to her bare back dress. Wow it was good. After the kiss, neither could look the other in the eye. It is going to be a long 2 month wait.

\- The Next Day -

Bell again went to meet Riveria at 7am. This time Riveria and Finn were there along with a large dwarf. Riveria did have some bandages on her, but Bell did not want to ask about it.

Riveria "Good morning Bell"

Finn "Good morning. One of our colleagues also wants to meet you. This is Gareth"

Gareth "Hi Bell, good to meet you"

Bell "Good morning. It is my pleasure, Gareth sama"

Riveria "Ais and I found you last night, but you went mind zero. Did she explained to you that magic use needs to be limited so you do not use up your mind?"

Bell blushed thinking about what happened in the dungeon "Yes she did"

Riveria did not miss the blush "I still have a few bandages on me when Ais responded strongly due to a few questions. What could have happened in the dungeon? Did you have a good time with Ais?"

Bell felt the pressure and tried to deflect "Yes, she taught me about magic use and how to learn to recognize when I am running out of mind"

Riveria smiled "I see. Did you have any other fun?"

Bell fought back "Yes, we enjoyed chatting and each other's company. I guess it is like you are with Finn-sama and Gareth-sama", causing Riveria to be shocked and her cheeks to heat up. She certainly was not expected to be teased. No junior adventurer had ever teased her like that.

With Riveria speechless, Finn and Gareth laughed at Riveria's defeat. Though Finn helped Riveria out by changing the topic back to sparring and training. Since Finn sparred with Bell last, he wanted to start off to see if there was any difference. Finn again used the blunt end of his spear while Bell wielded dual daggers. Of course, Bell was handily defeated many times, but what Finn did not expect was the significant difference between yesterday and today. Bell seemed 10% stronger and faster after 1 day. After about 30 minutes, they took a break for rest and potions.

After giving Bell more suggestions, Finn remarked "You are stronger and faster than yesterday. Impressive"

Riveria "I guess I am next"

Bell "Thanks Riveria-sama"

Just like Finn, Riveria bonked Bell with the staff multiple times but Riveria was even more shocked than Finn, as it has been 2 days since she sparred with Bell. Incredibly Bell seemed 20% faster and stronger. After another 30 minutes, it was time for another break and more instructions.

Then it was finally Gareth's turn. He immediately realized Bell was fighting like an extremely advanced level 1 or an early level 2. Now Gareth's extreme strength made Bell feel like he was trying to move a mountain...

At the end of the 2 hours, Bell went off to meet Lili while the 3 executives headed back to the Twilight Manor.

\- From the Top Floor of the Babel-

Freya monitored Bell's training with the Loki executives. She was impressed with his growth and asked Ottar what he thought would help push the boy along. Ottar indicated that the boy is still held back from PTSD due to the minotaur attack. Ottar went further and said that Bell needs to surpass this fear to make even faster progress, at which point Freya told him to help make that happen.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Gareth, Finn and Riveria walked into Loki's office and closed the door.

Loki "So how was the training"

Riveria "I am amazed more and more. Bell is fighting like an early level 2. And he received his falna 2 weeks ago"

Loki "Seriously? Leveling after 2 weeks compared Ais' one year? How is that possible?"

Finn "The logical guess is some special skill"

Gareth "I concur. Very very advanced level 1 or early level 2"

Loki "That would mean he advances more than 20 times faster than Ais..."

Finn "Well, we cannot ask him to show us his status. So we would only be sure after a leveling announcement"

Riveria laughed "May be he can really catch up to Ais", stabbing Loki in the heart again since they all knew what that meant...

After being teased, Loki brought up a slight concern. Apparently, Bell's advisor Eina asked about the Soma familia because Bell's supporter is a Soma member.

Riveria "Why is that a concern?"

Loki "Well, the Soma members worship their own wine instead of their god, and they would do anything to get more of the divine wine"

Finn "So there is some concern that the supporter may do something underhanded?"

Loki "I get the feeling Eina is worried about the supporter having questionable morals"

Riveria "That is a concern. I am going to check on this"

\- At the Babel -

Bell found Lili waiting for him. As they walked by one of the guild's notice boards, they saw there were lots of people talking about Ais becoming level 6 by defeating the floor boss Udaeus by herself. Finally Bell connected the dots between Ais' level up and her ripped up clothing from last night. It is going to take even more to catch up...

More resolved then ever, Bell headed with Lili into the dungeon. Initially, Lili was a little careful due to what happened with Ryuu and the Hestia knife. But with Bell seemingly completely focused on something else. So it appeared that Ryuu did not tell on her. They had an even easier time with Bell's added strength and speed. Thus the two went to the 10th floor. There, the monsters got a bit tougher and there were more of them. But they were still able to handle it, though they realized an extra party member may be needed to go further.

\- That Night at the Hestia Home -

Bell and Hestia had dinner at home, and Hestia was surprised at the amount of valis Bell earned for the day. Another day meant another update, with more significant progress. Knowing the progress is caused by another girl, Hestia bit her lips and kept silent about the rare rare skill.

\- The Next Morning -

Bell's training continued again with Riveria and Finn for the day. They were yet surprised again by seemingly another 10% of improvement in strength and speed. The situation was surreal for them as it would take normal adventurers months to make a similar advance.

Being a mage, Riveria also had Bell practice his spell. Again, the instant chant spell was another shock, but they were finally starting to accept that Bell may be a prodigy that Orario has never seen.

\- Deep in the Dungeon -

Ottar was fighting with different minotaurs before finally settling on an unusual black one that seemed unusually strong. He then started to teach the minotaur to fight with a long black sword...

\- In the Dungeon -

After training, Bell again headed to the dungeon with Lili. They again went all the way down to the 10th floor. But Lili had an evil plan to steal Bell's hestia knife due to her deep hatred for adventurers. First she used a trap item to attract many monsters. At the same time, she grabbed the hestia knife after using an arrow to dislodge the Hestia knife from its scabbard. With the monster attractant, Bell was too busy to chase after her as she kept telling herself it was good to betray Bell before Bell betrayed her like previous adventurers. Many orcs surrounded Bell, and it looked bad.

\- At the Babel -

Eina heard some adventurers talking about a young brat with white hair being led into a vicious trap. Realizing Bell was in trouble, she ran looking for help. Fortunately, she ran into Ais Wallenstein who was also heading into the dungeon. She then told Ais that Bell was in trouble on the 10th floor, which immediately set Ais in full ariel storming at high speeds down the dungeon.

\- On the 10th Floor -

Bell was fighting numerous orcs with the dagger from Riveria as well as his firebolt spell when needed. After killing 5 orcs, many still headed towards him due to the monster bait.

At that point, Ais reached the 10th floor, and she quickly found Bell battling another 5 orcs. She knew Bell wanted to get stronger to be worthy of her, so she waited and watched Bell fight. She was amazed that Bell was fighting really well against multiple orcs at the same time. It seemed that he was fighting like a 2nd level adventurer though she thought that was impossible. And then it was the no chant fire magic! While not wanting to interfere, Ais did smell the strong monster attractant. Realizing it was a trap, she could help Bell by getting rid of the monster bait. Quickly finding the item, she threw it a long distance away while Bell was still busy fighting the orcs. Without additional monsters being baited to the area, Bell was able to finish off the remaining orcs by himself.

Unaware Ais was nearby, Bell immediately ran off towards the 9th floor after finishing the orcs. Ais thought about following him, but was interrupted by a skeleton in a veil that had a quest for her...

\- On the 9th Floor -

As Lili was escaping, she was stopped by a few evil adventurers. After getting beaten, they took away her magic dagger and a key to a safety deposit box. They then left her to die by attracting a large number of killer ants to the area.

As it looked like the end of Lili, Bell finally caught up with her. Realizing she was wrong, she gave him back the Hestia knife which was hidden in her clothes. With the 2 daggers and firebolt, Bell had a long battle with numerous ants. Finally, even though he was exhausted, he finished off the last ant. After his victory, Lili apologized to Bell and cried for a long time asking Bell why he would save her when she betrayed him. When Bell explained that is because she is a girl, Lili was shocked and called Bell a lecher, an enemy to women and perverted. Having reconciled, they happily headed back up to the surface. Though Bell did squeeze her sensitive ears a few times as her 'punishment'.

\- That Night at the Hestia Home -

Bell brought Lili back to see Hestia, who admonished Lili for her betrayal. However, Lili convinced the goddess with her renewed sincerity in protecting Bell. Nevertheless the two got in a huge cat fight when they argued about their position with Bell. Hestia's claim her right to monopolize Bell while Lili claimed her right to hold hands with Bell when they explore the dungeon.

\- Five Days Later -

After additional training with the Loki senior executives, Bell reached stats that no one have reached by exceeding s level in strength, endurance and agility.

Bell went to meet up again with the Loki executives at 7am. This time Finn and Riveria were both there. After the 2 hours of sparring and instructions, Finn just could not take it any more...

Finn "Bell, I have met many talented adventurers, but you are just a freak of nature. You are fighting like a mid-level 2, but it has only been 3 weeks since you received your falna. Will you give us a hint about how that is possible?"

Bell "Finn-sama, thank you but I have no idea there is anything special. I have my goal and I am willing to do anything to get there, but you have known that since we started training. Hestia-sama did tell me that I am growing very fast. She also said that I need an act deemed worthy by the gods to level"

Riveria laughed "Thank you for verifying that your stats are ready to level. Finn and I have been wondering whether we are going crazy but we feel that you are fighting at a very high level for a level 1. You do realize that Ais is the current record holder and it took her 1 year to reach level 2?"

Bell was happy "No, I did not realize that. Well at least it gives me hope that I can catch up to her some day."

Riveria "We also have to tell you that we have to take a break in the training. We are leaving on a mission in 3 days to go deep in the dungeon. So we need to make preparations. It may be a couple weeks before we return."

Bell "Is Ais going to the deep mission? Is it very dangerous?"

Finn "Yes Ais is going and yes it is very dangerous, but we have a job to do", causing Bell's stomach to make a funny noise.

On that ominous note, it was time to go. Bell wished them good luck in their mission. He then headed to the Babel to meet with Lili before heading to the dungeon.

That night, Bell's stats continued their march into unprecedented territory:

strength - 1138

endurance - 1071

agility - 1339

dexterity - 1043

magic - 580

Magic - firebolt

\- The Next Morning -

Bell had trouble sleeping being worried about Ais, but there was nothing he could do. He may already be stronger than a typical level 2, but that is a far cry from someone who could add anything to a deep mission other than the body count.

After receiving his breakfast from Syr, he headed down the dungeon again with Lili. They had a pretty smooth trip down to the 10th floor, and they continue to hunt monsters and magic crystals. Suddenly, they heard a loud roar that stroke fear in Bell's heart. It sounded like a minotaur...

All the sudden, a huge black minotaur stormed towards them carry a large black sword. Seeing the danger, Bell ordered Lili to retreat and run towards the surface. Not wanting to abandon Bell, Lili only scrambled towards the surface to get help when Bell had to yell at her really harshly.

Far away near the exit to the 9th floor, a light brown Chienthrope took off a Hade Hat invisibility item. She then wielded a weapon while running towards Bell and the minotaur. Suddenly, a large boaz intercepted the Chienthrope.

Ottar "Lulune, this is none of your business. Leave or else", scaring the Chienthrope to run towards the 9th floor. After reaching safety, she appeared to be talking to a small item.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Riveria suddenly received a distress call from Lulune. As Ais, Tiona and Tione were sitting next to her, they all heard that Bell was being attacked by a minotaur on the 10th floor. They also heard that Ottar refused to allow Lulune to assist. With that news, Ais jumped out the window in ariel heading towards the dungeon entrance at max speed. Tiona and Tione followed, ready to assist their sister. Knowing that a dangeous war between the 2 strongest familias may result, Riveria quickly gathered Finn, Bete and Gareth, and they immediately headed towards the dungeon as well.


	5. Chapter 5

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Twilight Manor -

After hearing that a minotaur was attacking Bell on the 10th floor, Ais stormed out in full ariel towards the dungeon entrance while Tiona and Tione chased after her. Understanding that Ottar is somehow involved in this, Riveria, Finn, Bete and Gareth soon followed.

Ais knew there was no way a level 1 can survive a minotaur even though he has made a lot of progress. As she dived into the dungeon entrance, adventurers jumped out of her way shocked by the enormous power of her wind ... 1st floor ... 2nd floor ... 3rd floor ... 4th floor ... 5th floor ... even monsters were getting out of her way ... 6th floor ... hurry how long can Bell last against a minotaur ... 7th floor ... went by a pallum girl who was trying to say something ... 8th floor ... large group of adventurers jump out of her way ... 9th floor ... 10th floor - she has used valuable time but now she needed to find Bell. Hopefully he is still alive.

Calming herself down, she landed, listened and heard fighting in one direction. It was clashing of weapons. Good, hopefully Bell is still alive...

As she flew in ariel in that direction, suddenly a large boaz got in her way with weapon drawn! As desperate and the large sword clashed, Ais was repelled and landed on the ground.

Ottar "Kenki, I challenge you"

Ais "I dont have time for this", activating ariel again.

But Ottar did not allow her to pass. Another loud clash between desperate and the large sword.

Realizing she had to win to get through, she used her wind powers on Ottar, breaking her own rule. However he was too strong. Breaking her own rule even further, she used her finishing move, lil lafarga. After a terrible confrontation of power on power, Ottar was able to withstand Ais' attack with only minor injuries. With her ace spent, she still could not allow Bell to be killed. Desperately, she tried to fight Ottar even though he was more powerful. Even though he could have killed her, he was satisfied to just test out her defenses and prevent her from getting through.

Stopped ... stopped again ... stopped again ... Ais was desperate but she was not strong enough...

Seemingly bored, Ottar finally knocked Ais across the room into a wall.

Ottar "Kenki, you are too weak. Come back when you are worthy".

Those words caused tears to stream down Ais' face, but suddenly 2 familiar amazons charged towards the the boaz.

Tiona "Ais, lets go"

With 2 level 5's attacking Ottar, he was unable to intercept Ais from getting through in full ariel. As the two amazons tried to get by him, Ottar no longer tried to stop them. He realized he had failed but he had bought a lot of time.

After using ariel to get by Ottar, she ran on foot so she could figure out where the fighting is. She was scared. So scared. She really hope she could still those noises of weapons clashing. But silence... More silence...

Suddenly and thankfully, there were again the loud clangs of weapons hitting each other that she hoped for. Having found the direction, she activated ariel again and headed towards the fighting. A couple minutes behind, Tiona and Tione were running as fast as they could after the wind storm.

Having completed his mission half-successfully, Ottar started walking back towards the 9th floor. Soon after he was on the 9th floor, he ran into Finn, Riveria, Bete, Gareth who running towards the 10th floor. Ottar noticed that Lulune was with them as well as a small pallum girl who was carried by Riveria.

Finn "Ottar"

Ottar "Hi Finn"

Finn "May I ask why you are in the dungeon alone today?"

Ottar "I had some business to attend to below"

Finn "Are you on familia business?"

Ottar "No, I am just on my own"

With their short conversation over, the group against sped towards the 10th floor again.

Meanwhile Ais reached her destination. To her shock, she saw a young boy wielding dual daggers fighting a large black minotaur with an unusual large sword. The battle was quite even as the boy had great speed, and of course the minotaur was much stronger. The minotaur had lots of injuries, but not deep. And that was the same with the boy, with blood all over his arms and legs but nothing that seemed serious. At that point, Tione and Tiona arrived. The 3 girls watched mesmerized to the battle.

While it was only a 1st level fighter fighting like a 2nd level, it was intense, very intense, deadly intense. While was only a minotaur, it was a black one and very strong and used a weapon they have never seen a minotaur used. While any of them could end the fight in 10 seconds, they could not stop watching with great excitement.

Soon Bell also noticed that he had an audience that included Ais. He knew they could easily end the fight, but he wanted to take down the minotaur himself. A minotaur almost ended his life, and he needed to defeat a strong minotaur to free himself from that primal fear he had to bull monsters from that earlier incident.

Tiona "It is a stalemate"

Tione "Not sure yet"

Tiona "Do you want to risk him getting hurt?"

With Tiona's comment snapping her out of a strange state, Ais "Bell, let me help you"

Bell "Ais, I am on my first adventure. Please let me finish this because I cannot always have Ais Wallenstein save me"

Even with Bell's request, Ais' body still headed towards the fight, but a strange force told her to stop. It seems she saw a hero's image superimposed over Bell's back. It looked like the father of her memories...

At that point, the large group arrived. Everyone though just stood there and watched the spectacle.

Finn watched and could not believe his eyes. That a level 1, even though an advanced one, was fighting a level 2 monster at least evenly.

Riveria smiled seeing Ais intently watching the battle. She realized this boy may draw out the best of her daughter.

Bete was shocked "The tomato kid." and he could not believe how a level 1 is doing this with a level 2 monster.

Finn "Bete, I thought you said he was trash and useless?", smiling but realizing the hero race has just gotten a new contender.

Bete "What in the world happened?" as the hair was standing on the back of his neck and his tail was wagging wildly by itself. He hated that he was excited about this fight, but he could not control himself

Gareth smiled "Wow this kid has a lot of spirit" playing with his beard.

Tiona "He is just like the argonaut! The hero of my favorite story book!" with a panty drop.

Tione watched Finn who had a big smiled while having her own panty drop.

At that point, Lili asked the strong adventurers to help Bell, but Ais explained to her that Bell wanted to win by himself.

The fighting went on and on as if time had stopped. The 1st class adventurers just watched the battle as if they could not remove their eyes from the young boy and his rival. An hour must have passed when the boy finally scored the first major win - he cut off the right hand of the minotaur!

\- Meanwhile at the Potato Puff Stand -

Hestia was serving customers while suddenly she started to glow. Somehow without warning, her arcanum started to activate. It was not to bring her back to heaven, but she started to glow with a white light and a red flame, which became very very bright. Her eyes went glowing hot white and she floated above the potato stand which scared all the customers away. Suddenly the white and red glow exploded and became a missile that headed towards the Babel.

Said missile of white brilliance and red flames flew into the dungeon entrance, down the floors and eventually into the body of young Bell, shocking the minotaur and everyone watching the battle. Bell's body was then surrounded by the white glow and red flames with his eye glowing white hot.

Bell "bankai! I have the power! " { joke }

After a few seconds, the glow and the fire was absorbed into Bell's body and he looked normal again...

Then he charged towards the minotaur again, but this time with much more strength and even more speed. The difference was very significant.

Tiona "Somehow he just got a power boost"

Riveria "I would say he is fighting like a level 3 now..."

Finn "Whatever that was, it is as if he leveled"

Soon, Bell had the one-armed minotaur completely on the defense. Then soon the monster lost it other arm, and then Bell got behind the minotaur, inserting both daggers into the back of the monster!

Bell "firebolt" and routed the fire magic through both daggers into the monster. After that, the monster was no more, leaving behind a horn drop and a magic stone...

At that point, Bell collapsed and everyone rushed to him.

As Ais poured a potion on Bell, Lili made sure that Bell was breathing. Riveria then checked Bell and told everyone that he was simply exhausted after a life or death battle which went well over an hour.

\- At the Top Floor of the Babel -

Freya was watching intently using a mirror from her arcanum against the rules... She was convulsing in pleasure as she had never enjoyed a life and death battle like that. Bell's clear soul shone so brightly and she knew she had to have him...

And the white glow and red flame, even Freya did not know what that was. She is now even more curious about the boy with the pure clear soul.

\- Back at the Potato Puff Stand -

Hestia fainted after the missile of white glow and red flames left her. Soon after that, several Ganesha members heard about what happened and went to check on Hestia. As they cleared the crowd around the potato puff stand, they carried off the unconscious goddess as onlookers wondered what happened to the loli...


	6. Chapter 6

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**In Big Trouble**

\- In the Dungeon -

After Bell was checked out and also healed with a potion, the Loki group carried Bell back towards the surface. Of course, Ais insisted on princess carrying Bell, making Lili jealous.

As they walked, Finn "Well that was some fight"

Excited Tiona "It felt like one of those hero stories. Much better than the manga today. He is like those heroes I read about, just like the argonaut! Much better than that stupid ninja story! Or the dumb pirate! "

Tione "Shut down, dork" hitting Tiona on the head."

Smiling Riveria "That is some boy that you found, Ais"

Ais smiled but was too embarrassed (though satisfied) while carrying the unconscious boy.

Thinking about it, Finn "Riveria and Gareth, he felt like a level 3 to me. Is that your read? It seemed like he improved by almost a level during the fight"

Riveria thinking out loud "The same for me. When we sparred, he was like a mid level 2. After the white red light made him glow, he was somewhere between an early 3 or a mid 3 to me."

Gareth laughed "Right, he also felt like a mid level 2 when we sparred. Whatever happened definitely increased his power and speed by almost a level. lol lol lol"

Ais suddenly realized something was wrong "... What do you mean that you were sparring with him?", as mini-Ais was shocked.

As the 3 senior executives sweated, they forgot about keeping their secret while marveling about Bell's progress. Now someone had to answer Ais' questions "oh crap!".

The momma replied meekly"Well, we know how important he is to you. So we decided to give him proper training so he can protect himself"

Ais was steamed so badly that steam was coming out of the ears "You mean while he refused to spend time with me, he was spending time with you?", mini-Ais was furious inside all up in arms!

Trying to calm Ais down, Finn "Riveria just wanted to protected your boyfriend because she cared about you. She also gave him a 1st class weapon"

Upset Ais pouted "You went to play with the rabbit while I had no one to play with... That is not fair!", as mini-Ais was not happy.

The senior executives realized they were in big big trouble...

Riveria tried to reason with Ais "But he wanted to be worthy to you before spending time with you. He had no such constraint with us. We wanted to make sure he gets stronger so he would not get hurt and he can play with you"

Ais turned red with anger "I am angry!" stamping her feet in a way no one has seen.

Tiona thought "Wow they are in trouble. I would not want to be in their shoes"

Tione thought "Poor Finn, Ais is really mad"

Bete thought with tail between legs "For once, I am going to keep my big mouth shut. Ais is really scary when angry." though quietly enjoying the seniors getting grilled.

Riveria "I am sorry if you are upset. But he gained a lot of status when we trained him."

Furious Ais "I should be the one training him. This rabbit is in big trouble when he wakes up"

Everyone else thought "Poor Bell..."

Furious Ais "From now on, I am the one who trains the rabbit! I am the one gets the rabbit's time. He is MY BUNNY! MY BUNNY ONLY!"

Everyone stayed quiet during the firestorm thinking "Wow Ais is really really scary"

As the group continued to go up the dungeon under duress, even Lili and Lulune kept quiet. They were amazed the sword princess had so much power in the Loki familia with the senior executives...

Finn thought "Loki is going to be scared"...

\- At the Top Floor of the Babel -

Ottar just returned from the dungeon.

Happy Freya "Ottar, you did well. It was glorious"

Stoic Ottar "Thank you my lady"

Freya swooned "I want to play with him. I want to make him shine like that again. I am addicted to his brilliance."

Ottar "I will try to find another worthy opponent for him that will bring out the brilliance. We do need him to improve first though. Do you want me to train him?"

Freya "With the Loki familia's involvement, you need to find a way. Go train him" as she sipped some red wine.

Ottar "Yes my lady"

\- At the Babel -

Later, the Loki group reached the dungeon entrance, and at that time, Bell started to wake up. He realized that his head was resting comfortably against a very soft cushiony pillow. After a few moments, he opened his eyes, he found his face was pressed against a well endowed lady. Seeing blonde hair and white clothing, he realized he was enjoying the comforts of Ais' charms. As his faced got red, Tiona noticed that the rabbit was stirring.

Tiona "Mr. Argonaut is up"

Ais was happy that Bell is awake and looked down to check on him. Still with his face cradled in her bosom, Bell was enjoying also his situation.

Ais "Congrats, you defeated the minotaur and we are taking you back up to the surface"

Bell "Ais, thank. I dont want you to have to carry me for so long."

Ais pouted "Don't you want to be carried by me"

Bell winked while enjoying the comfort "Ais, of course I like the view", with Ais finally becoming really embarrassed when she realized what 'view' Bell was referring to.

Bell winked again "but it is embarrassing for a guy to be princess carried by a girl"

Ais said with an evil glint in her eyes to the naughty rabbit "So it is ok for me to carry you while you are unconscious?"

Bell realized he was in danger "gulp..."

So Ais decided to let Bell down. Then she remembered about the training and suddenly had a serious look.

Serious Ais "Bell, I just found out that you have been spending time with Finn, Riveria and Gareth, but you are making me wait", making all 3 senior executives sweat again...

Bell was surprised "Well they were kind enough to train me because they were worried about me"

Serious Ais "If you wanted training, why did you not ask me to train you?", as everyone was worried for Bell.

Bell smiled not understanding the danger "Well, I did not request it. Riveria sama was nice enough to offer it when we had dinner together. And she gave me a nice dagger. She is really nice", making Riveria really scared with even more secrets exposed.

Realizing the evil conspiracy went much further, steamed Ais "Riveria, you had dinner with my BUNNY when I never had a dinner date?"

Scared Riveria "I ran into Bell at the hostess of fertility. So we had dinner together"

Angry Ais "Riveria, when did you offer Bell training?" as the interrogation has started...

Sweating Riveria "Well, I saw that you cared about him. So at the same dinner, I offered him the training."

Angry Ais "And the dagger, when did you give him the dagger?"

Really sweating Riveria "I could see his dagger was not that sharp. So I brought a good dagger for him hoping that he can catch up to you faster..."

Angry Ais "Where was this training?"

Really really sweating Riveria "At the city walls near our familia"

Angry Ais "So you gave Bell one-on-one training in private?"

Really really really sweating Riveria "Yes for 2 hours a day. I believe he went to the dungeon afterwards"

Angry Ais "And how did Finn and Gareth get involved in this"

Scared to death Riveria "Well, I told them about the training and then they wanted to help. Everybody wanted Bell to grow faster", as Finn and Gareth knew they could be next.

Fuming Ais "Well, who else knew about this training besides Finn and Gareth"

Defeated Riveria "Loki, Tiona and Tione also knew" telling the truth and really scared about what comes next.

Smoking angry Ais "You mean to tell me that everyone knew about the training except me?"

Really scared Tiona "Well, Bete and Lefiya did not know either"

Bete thought happily "I am safe. Definitely keep mouth really shut"

Crying Ais and mini-Ais stomping their feet and jumping up and down "All this time, I have been waiting and waiting and waiting... I did not get a dinner date. I did not get to train Bell. I was kept in the dark. I am so mad!" giving Bell, Tiona, Tione, Bete, Lili and Lulune a full reveal of the 'princess' part of the sword princess for the first time.

As all the senior adventurers stood in attention next to each other ready for punishment and scared to death, angry Ais and mini Ais were ready to become executioners. All this was happening while Bell, Lili, Bete and Lulune waited in total silence.

Bell realized he had to do something to save them ...

\- At the Guild -

Hestia was carried inside by the Ganesha members. They brought Hestia in a room, and from there, someone hidden by a black cloak waited after Hestia was placed on a sofa.

After some time, Hestia finally woke up and was shocked by the person in the black cloak.

Freaked out Hestia "AHHHHHHH, who are you? Where am I?"

Person in strange voice "Lady Hestia, you are at the guild. You were carried here after your arcanum activated. I am Fels and I work for Ouranos. Please follow me to see Ouranos"

Calmer, Hestia "Alright, let's go", sweating as she realized it is forbidden for her to use her arcanum...

\- Inside Ouranos' Chamber -

Serious Ouranos "Hestia ... It has been a long time"

Hestia "Ouranos, yes it has been a long time"

Serious Ouranos "I think you know why you are here."

Scared Hestia "Yes I do"

Serious Ouranos "We all agreed to not use our arcanum. The punishment for violation of the rule is to be sent back to heaven"

Really scared Hestia gulped "..."


	7. Chapter 7

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

\- Inside Ouranos' Chamber -

Serious Ouranos "We all agreed to not use our arcanum. The punishment for violation of the rule is to be sent back to heaven"

Really scared Hestia gulped "..."

Serious Ouranos "It has been reported that you used your arcanum, including floating in the air in the middle of the city and then firing off some type of white and red energy missile into the dungeon. Hestia, how do you answer to these charges?"

Hestia "I did float in the air in the middle of the city, and a white and red energy missile did fire off from my body towards the Babel. I am aware of both, but I did not intentionally perform either of these acts myself."

Confused Ouranos "If you did not intentionally do this, then how did it happened? Are you telling me a god was being controlled?"

Hestia "Yes, I do not know what happened, but I did not willfully violate the rule on the use of our arcanum"

Serious Ouranos "I will accept your comments for now. But an investigation will be launched. For now, please stay within the city confines and work with the guild which will handle the investigation."

Serious Ouranos "Royman will take you to a member of the guild will be handling this."

\- Outside the Babel -

On the lawn area, Ais and mini-Ais had all the senior adventurers standing next to each other ready for punishment and scared to death. Off to the side, Bell, Lili, Bete and Lulune waited and watched in total silence. A large crowd was gathered curious about what will happen. Freya was watching curiously from upstairs.

Bell was trying everything to stop the punishment. He tried a dogeza, he tried a kiss on the cheek, he tried plain begging, but Ais was determined with a strong pout. He offered to be spanked himself. Finally, Bell was desperate and he did his ultimate technique. He grabbed Ais and put her head on his lap while stroking her hair.

While Ais resisted a little at the beginning, the comfort from the lap pillow was really amazing. And being petted on the head was having an incredible calming effect on her flames. As the Loki executives watched from the corner of their eyes, it appeared the anger level was dropping. After 5 minutes, a smile finally returned to Ais' face.

After a while, Ais got up and thanked Bell with a kiss on the cheek, but she was still determined that her familia members needed punishment.

Militant Ais "You still did things behind my back, and you still tricked me. And you still took Bell's first dinner date. But Bell was able to convince me to lower amount of the punishment. So it will be 2 spanks instead of 20!", which still made the seniors very worried.

The crowd watching was also getting larger and larger, curious about what the sword princess was doing. A few gods including Ganesha, Hephaestus and Miach were there as well. Having acquired a large wooden paddle, the punishment was on. Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Tiona and Tione bravely took their punishment and public humiliation. After the spanking was administered, Loki suddenly jumped in and took the paddle to get her turn! Except that Ais grabbed Loki and told her that she also had to be punished as well. To the surprise to the crowd, Loki enjoyed and welcomed the punishment from Ais...

At that point, Eina came over to Bell and said there is a serious matter regarding Lady Hestia and Bell needed to follow him immediately. Seeing the seriousness on Eina's face, Ais, Finn, Riveria and Loki followed Bell to see what was going on. Eina could not say much outside, but she repeated that it is an incredibly serious matter. In fact, Eina would have interrupted the spanking to fetch Bell except she could not stomach the public spanking of an High Elf. Such a public punishment of a high elf was unthinkable to most elves.

Once inside the Guild, Eina tried to take Bell alone with her, but Ais would not allow it.

Loki "Eina, could you please tell us what is going on? Ais is quite smitten with the boy, so she is not going to allow any harm to come to him"

Eina "No harm will come to Bell, I promise. It is the goddess that is under investigation"

Bell and Loki wide-eyed "INVESTIGATION!?"

Eina "Normally this type of information is confidential. But Bell, are you fine with the Loki members hearing this information?"

Bell "It is fine", after which Eina signaled everyone to go together into a room.

Eina "This part will soon be made public. Lady Hestia is accused of using her arcanum. The punishment if proven guilty is returning to heaven with no return trip"

Bell "No!"

Finn "Could you please tell us the details of what happened?"

Eina then recounted the details of the charges, that Hestia floated in the air in the middle of the city. And then fired off a red and white missile of energy into the dungeon"

Finn "Do you know where the red and white energy missile went?"

Eina "We do not know yet"

Finn "We can tell you that. The missile hit Bell"

Eina "Please understand that your information will be added to the public record"

Finn "That is fine. We all saw it."

Eina "Well, this helps accelerate the investigation. What did the missile do?"

Finn "It seemed to make Bell more powerful. He was fighting a minotaur at that time. While he had the advantage after cutting off one of the monster's arms, it took him more than 1 hour to do that. After the missile impacted on Bell, he glowed for a few seconds. Then it appeared he was fighting at about 1 level higher in strength and speed and quickly disposed of the monster"

Furious Eina yelled at Bell "Bell-kun, what are you doing with a minotaur? Where were you?"

Scared Bell "It attacked me, and I was on the 10th floor."

Confused Eina "What was the minotaur doing on the 10th floor? What is it with Bell and minotaurs?"

Finn "We do not know. May be bulls find rabbits tasty. We went to help Bell after we found out. Ottar may have been involved in this in some way"

Calming down, Eina "Ottar? ... ... Is the power increase effect permanent?"

Finn "We do not know and would not know until we test him"

Eina "Can we do that now"?"

Finn "Sure, Bell, we could spar some?"

Finn then sparred with Bell, after which Riveria did so, and then Gareth. Upset and not to be excluded, Ais also got her turn. Afterwards, everyone agreed that Bell was fighting like a level 3, which they all agreed was impossible for a level 1.

Eina "At this point, we need Lady Hestia's help to figure out what happened here. Please wait while I bring her here"

After a few minutes, Eina and Hestia came back. Bell immediately hugged Hestia, which made Ais jealous while bringing tears to Hestia's eyes.

After a couple minutes of a reunion, Hestia "The easiest way to find out what happened is for me to update his status."

Eina approved and they went in the corner to perform the update so no one else can see Bell's back. After which, Hestia had a parchment with just Bell's level and stats.

Hestia "I made the parchment for evidence if I need to prove what happened is real. But Bell is now level 2"

Eina "How is that possible?"

Hestia "I do not know"

Finn "That energy missile?"

Hestia "That would appear to be the explanation, but there is more"

Eina "What is more?"

Hestia to the Loki and Loki members "This is confidential so please agree to keep this confidential."

After they agreed to a non-disclosure agreement, Hestia "Well Bell's stats were pushed beyond the limit in strength, endurance and agility. His magic and dexterity were at the limit", without actually disclosing what the stats were.

Eina and Riveria "Impossible!"

Hestia to Eina "If you will come here, I will show you the parchment"

Eina did and almost fainted looking at the stats:

Level 1 - Level 2

Strength 1501 - 0 - 26

Endurance 1501 - 0 - 25

Agility 1501 - 0 - 31

Dexterity 1500 - 0 -23

Magic 1500 - 0 - 29

Magic - firebolt (hidden)

Skill - Liaris Freese, Argonaut (hidden)

Development ability - luck (hidden)

Eina "OMG, it is true"

Loki "You are telling me the boy reached level 2 in 3 weeks, and his strength, endurance and agility stats were above 1000"

Hestia proudly "Yes" without disclosing that all the stats were 1500 or 1501 and not 1000 or 1001.

Eina "So the evidence indicates that the energy missile somehow leveled Bell to level 2. And it may have increased his stats to unprecedented levels."

Finn "That would seem to be the case."

Hestia "Finn, after the minotaur, did Bell fight anything else or do anything else that would earn him excelia?"

Finn "No"

Hestia "And you were with him the entire time after the battle with the minotaur?"

Finn "Yes, Bell became unconscious immediately after defeating the minotaur. He was literally carried by Ais in a princess carry from the spot where he defeated the minotaur all the way back up to the Babel where we are now", making Hestia jealous.

Hestia "Eina, so this proves that Bell did not earn any other excelia after the minotaur. So with the additional stats in level 2, that proves that the leveling happened during the fight with the minotaur"

Eina "Lady Hestia, that is true. It does prove that."

Eina thought some more then asked "But how do we know if Lady Hestia sent the leveling missile on purpose or the missile happened out of her control"

Sherlock Finn then jumped in with logic "But lets look at possible causes and effects. First Lady could have leveled Bell at any time. Why do it in the middle of a dungeon trip? She could have done it before he left for the dungeon. The way it happened was about the most public way possible, with her floating in the air sending a bright white and red energy missile in the middle of the day in front of many witnesses"

Eina "I would agree. If she wanted to level Bell in secrecy, the way it happened was extremely illogical."

Sherlock Finn continued "Well we watched the minotaur fight for more than an hour before the energy missile hit Bell. If Lady Hestia would have intentionally done the level up, then the missile should have happened much earlier. No one, adventurer or god, would expect a level 1 can survive 2 minutes with a minotaur, nevermind 1 hour. So Lady Hestia should have leveled him using the energy missile at the beginning of the fight and not 1 hour later."

Sherlock Finn continued after allowing a little time for his logic to be digested "I will dive further into this logic. When the energy missile hit Bell, he was winning. That is he just cut off the arm of the minotaur. At that point, Bell was not in much danger. Furthermore, Ais had been on the side itching to jump in to turn the minotaur into grounded beef for more than an hour. Tiona, Tione, Gareth, Riveria and I were also watching and ready to jump in at any second if the minotaur got lucky. Why risk such a public violation of her arcanum when it was not needed?"

Eina "That logic does make sense. But it still is not proof. For example, Lady Hestia could have suddenly became aware of the fight with the level 2 monster minotaur and reacted emotionally and instantly to level Bell using the missile."

Sherlock Finn "That is certainly a possibility, but here is another possibility. Perhaps Bell going past the 'limit' triggered some type of automatic leveling response from Lady Hestia. The fact the missile came immediately after cutting off the minotaur's arm seems to support an unprecedented automatic leveling as he had essentially defeated the monster and probably have received an enormous amount of excelia to unprecedentedly push it past the limit. He was definitely worthy of a level up at that point."

Eina "Yes that may be what happened, but we do not have definitive proof either way. We dont know which is cause and which is effect. I agree that it is more logical that Lady Hestia did not do this intentionally, but we need more"

Sherlock Finn "First, you just agreed that it is more likely that Lady Hestia did not do this intentionally. If that is the case, without further evidence either way, how can you rule a goddess guilty and send her back to heaven? Second, following your counter example, Lady Hestia would have had to become aware of the danger from the minotaur. That probably means Lady Hestia would have been using the arcanum mirror magic. Is there a way to know if someone was using the mirror magic or some similar magic?"

Eina "You are right. I will need to check into that"

After some further thought, Eina "Nevertheless, this is a very impressive argument for Lady Hestia's innocence. I will provide this evidence to the guild."

Eina to Hestia "Lady Hestia, could you please provide that parchment as evidence. Also as Lord Ouranos stated, please stay within the city limits"

Hestia "That is fine. I will conduct my everyday life as I would normally including my jobs"

Eina "That is fine. We will let you know when we need your assistance in the investigation"

Eina "Lady Loki, I am aware of the deep dungeon trip your familia has planned. However your senior executives are key witnesses for this investigation, so it would be really helpful if that could wait until this investigation is finished. We will work as fast as we can"

With that, everyone left the guild. Bell and Hestia thanked Finn for his vigorous and stunning defense of Hestia. Ais announced that she will be training Bell ALONE as they await the investigation to conclude after Loki agreed to the training. Meanwhile the Orario news bulletin reported on the Hestia investigation. The gossip page also covered the dramatic punishment of the Loki executives by the sword princess, which apparently turned the familia into the laughing stock of the city.

\- At the Hestia Home -

Hestia showed Bell the rest of his stats except for a certain skill that she kept hidden on rapid growth.

Hestia "It seems your stats advance triggered that red and white energy missile that leveled you. I do not know if it will happen again even if I get to stay with you."

Bell hugged Hestia "Goddess, I will not leave you!" which made Hestia very happy.

But there is also a new skill - argonaut which is the ultimate hero shot. It allows you to have a chance when all seems hopeless. How it will manifest, I dont know. You also have a development ability, luck, which literally improves your luck and is the closest thing to divine protection.

\- The Next Morning -

At 7am, Ais and Bell met at the same training location. Mini-Ais was quite pleased with the time with Bell. The location was also very private so the public was not aware of the training and they could enjoy each other's company without much interruption. Though a goddess on top of the Babel was quite displeased.

They sparred with Ais using the scabbard of desperate while Bell was dual wielding daggers. Even with Bell's level up, it was a massive mismatch. With the training by Riveria, Finn and Gareth, Bell's technique was decent, but Ais also focused on that and especially his defense.

One difference with sparring with Ais was that she was not as proficient in controlling her strength. So Bell was knocked out many times. Though with the evil glint in Ais' eyes, Bell was not sure how often that was intentional. It seemed Ais enjoyed applying the lap pillow, petting the hair, as well as princess carrying the young boy...

Ais also noticed that Bell grew extremely quickly. He learned when instructed and was able to immediately apply the lessons. By the end of the morning, the technique was notably better while Bell was notably faster and stronger. Being a level 6, she repeated beat down Bell but Bell actually managed to 'score' on her a few times beyond the few extracurricular scores during breaks. Ais also could easily tell that Bell was a far better and faster student than she is. She really wanted to learn how Bell does it as Bell grows so fast, particularly Bell is now the recorder holder having reached level 2 in 3 weeks instead of her 1 year...

After a lunch at Hestia's potato puff stand, Bell and Ais decided to have a dungeon date after checking with Eina. Since it was a date, Lili was not allowed to come along. Apparently there was a lot of ground to make up for the training by the senior executives.

As Bell and Ais headed towards the dungeon, they did not noticed something invisible was apparently followed them. The two made quick work of the early floors and quickly got down to the 10th floor. At that point, Ais noticed Bell's hand was surrounded with white light particles after they killed off a lot of orcs. All the sudden, a baby dragon was seen chasing a couple adventurers. As Ais was ready to assist, Bell launched his firebolt magic, except the firebolt was tremendous with much more white light than typical. The spell ended up blowing up the head of the baby dragon and leaving a magic stone, surprising everyone. That caused Ais to look at Bell wondering what those white particles were and whether there was some strange divine intervention again going on...


	8. Chapter 8

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Argonaut!**

\- In the Dungeon -

On the 10th floor, Ais was going to assist a couple adventurers with a baby dragon when Bell blew the dragon up with his firebolt spell as white particles floated around his hand.

Wondering if there was divine intervention again going on, Ais "Bell, how did you do that?"

Bell "I used my firebolt spell, but this time it was much more powerful."

Ais "Did you notice those white particles forming around your hand?"

Bell "Yes, but I do not know what to think of them"

Bell "I am feeling kind of tired though", as Ais quickly picked him up in a princess carry.

Bell laughed "Ais, what are you doing? lol"

Ais "Carrying you back to the surface to get your checked out"

Bell winked "I would prefer if you would check me out instead", making the girl blush wildly at the implications.

Ais then looking stern "Bell, are you promising things you cannot deliver on again"

Bell pouted but looked defeated "Ouchy Ais, that hurt a lot"

Ais pouted "Well, you need to think because you make an offer..."

Bell pouted some more "Sorry Ais..."

Bell then tried a different approach "I am enjoying the comfort and the view, but are you sure you want to carry me all the way back to the surface", making Ais blush again when she realized what Bell was alluding to.

Ais defended "You are bad" though she was not complaining while Bell drank a recovery potion.

As the sword princess carried her prize all the way back to the surface, all types of adventurers gave Bell dirty looks. However, Bell simply ignored them...

Bell "Ais, lets go back to my home. We should ask the goddess about what happened."

Ais "Alright, do you want to carry me or should I carry you?"

Bell "How about we walk normally. While I don't embarrass easily, we should not make too many waves in town, particularly with investigation going on."

Ais realized Bell was right "You are right. We should stay lower profile..."

Thus, the two walked to the Hestia home and fortunately Hestia was home.

Hestia "Bell, Ais, how was your training date?"

Bell "Goddess, it was fun. Ais taught me a lot, and we got approval from Eina to have a dungeon date"

Hestia "Really, anything interesting?"

Bell "Actually yes", and then proceeded to describe what happened with the baby dragon.

Hestia thought and then looking seriously at Ais "Ais, please keep this confidential" which Ais agreed to with a nod.

Hestia "Well, this must be that argonaut skill kicking in. Remember it is the ultimate hero's shot. It gives you a chance even when things look dire. Looks like it activated automatically with the dragon together with firebolt"

Ais "Wow, it exploded the head of the dragon. Lefiya's spells cannot even do that"

Hestia "Who is Lefiya?"

Ais "Lefiya is a young mage in my familia. She is studying under Lady Riveria and expected to be her ultimate replacement. She has very strong magic and is known as the Thousand Elf. She is currently level 3 but Bell's beam magic actually is more powerful at this point, at least for focusing power into 1 target. Lady Riveria's magic is more powerful than Lefiya's, but she does not use a focused beam attack that I am aware of"

Hestia "Interesting"

Hestia "Bell, let me update your status", which she did after Ais gave them some privacy.

Level 2

Strength: 105

Endurance: 103

Agility: 121

Dexterity: 99

Magic: 123

Magic- firebolt

Skill - liaris freese, argonaut

Ability: luck

Hestia "Amazing, you made great progress even after 1 day as a level 2", even showing Ais the numbers portion of the stats.

Ais thought "Wow, he grew in one day what it would take me weeks..."

Ais suddenly realized something that Bell may have been doing. While pouting,"Bell, when you promised me 2 months, were you being sneaky?"

Bell looking scared "Well I wanted to be at least a level 3. So I did do some math"

Ais pouted at maximum strength "You were being sneaky!" realizing that Bell could well be level 4 by that time.

After giving Ais some kisses to apologize, Bell thought about the situation and decided that Hestia must be under a lot of stress. So he decided to ask both ladies out to dinner. Both gladly accepted, so they headed off to the Hostess.

\- At the Hostess -

Syr and Ryuu brought Hestia, Ais and Bell to a table at the corner with more privacy. After bringing their food, Syr and Ryuu came to talk to them.

Syr "Lady Hestia, we heard about what happened. We are really sorry"

Bell jumped in "Hestia sama did nothing wrong so it will be fine", the immediate and strong defense of his goddess instantly earned Bell more respect from all 3 girls.

Hestia "Syr and Ryuu, thank you for your concern, but as Bell said, I did nothing wrong. Something very strange happened that activated my arcanum by itself. It may be unprecedented, but the truth will come out"

Ais "Yes, and my familia members and I saw Bell leveled by that strange energy missile that went from Lady Hestia to Bell inside the dungeon. My captain Finn made a very strong argument that Lady Hestia could not have intentionally done what appeared to have happened."

Ryuu "Well we are glad to hear that"

Syr "Well record holder, we are pleased that such a famous person is eating at our pub" teasing Bell.

Ryuu "Yes the current record holder and the previous record holder too"

Ais "Well, Bell totally wiped out my record so I cannot compare" putting even more pressure on Bell.

Bell jumped in again "But Ais is the inspiration that I strive to. I can only dream of reaching the level that Ais has attained", earning even more respect from Syr and Ryuu.

Syr "So quick to defend his girlfriend also" causing a deep blush on Ais.

Mia also came by to check on Hestia. After hearing about what happened, Mia said she is confident that Hestia will be exonerated.

After Mia, Syr and Ryuu went off to attend to their pub duties, a girl with azure hair and a man with a funny hat with a feather came to their table.

Hestia immediately recognized the man "Hermes"

Hermes "Hi Hestia, how are you. It has been so long"

Hestia "What do you want Hermes"

Hermes "Hestia it seems you are not happy to see me, and after all the 'fun' we had in our district in heaven. Actually I was asked by someone to check on Bell Cranel. I presume this is you?"

Puzzled Bell "Yes I am"

Angry Hestia defended herself "And we never had fun in heaven. I will beat you down if you say something like that again!"

Hermes ignoring Hestia "Bell, I see you are in good company with the sword princess, wow. Oh and this is my captain Asfi Andromeda", with the girl with azure hair making a bow.

Bell "May I ask who was curious about me"

Hermes "I am not allowed to discuss that, but on my honor as a god, I can guarantee it is not a bad person"

Annoyed Hestia "Hermes, what do you want"

Hermes "First, Bell, I heard about what happened at the guild. I just want you to know that I want to be a resource to you. So please come to my home if you ever need anything."

Hermes "Second, Hestia, if it comes to a vote, be sure I will be on your side"

Hestia calming down "Well, thank you Hermes. I hope it does not come to that"

Hermes "I will not disturb your dinner any more, but Bell, Ais and Hestia, let us know if you need any help"

After dinner, Bell and Hestia walked Ais home, before going back themselves to their humble home.

\- At the Hestia Home -

As they retired to bed, Hestia "Bell, if I am sent back to heaven, will you go to the Loki familia?"

Angry Bell "You will not be sent back. I am not going to even think about it"

Hestia "When Hephaestus created the weapon, she promised me that the weapon will continue to live even if I am sent back to heaven"

Bell in tears "Goddess, I cannot even think of such an outcome"

Hestia went over to hug Bell "Bell no matter what happens, I will always be with you. Whether we get separated from this mess. Or when you grow old and get reincarnated. I will find your soul and make an offer for you to join my familia again and again, no matter how many times you reincarnate"

Those words made Bell cry even more as they hugged. Eventually the next day came and they woke up in each other's arms.

\- The Next Day -

Bell went off to train with Ais while Hestia went to work.

The improvement in Bell was obvious to Ais from the day before. He was noticeably faster and stronger. It was surreal just as the senior executives discovered. After two hours of sparring and training, they went off to test out Bell's argonaut powers.

As they walked to a remote grass area to test out Bell's powers, they had some time to talk.

Bell "Ais, how dangerous is the 59th floor mission?"

Ais "It will be very dangerous. You need to keep this confidential. But there are many new threats. There are new monsters that spray acid. We had to make new weapons that are not affected by the acid. There are also lots of plants that have very thick skin which weapons have trouble penetrating. Then there are these jewel fetuses that can parasiticize monsters that turn make monsters much much larger and more powerful. But the worse is a creature that is half human half monster with plant-like powers and regeneration. The creature Revis was able to defeat me before Finn and Riveria came to help. And Revis was able to eat magic stones to get stronger. And Revis invited me to the 59th floor to find out the truth of what is going on."

Bell "This sounds really dangerous"

Ais "Well that is why my familia prepared a long time for this mission. And the Hephaestus familia is going with us to assist."

Bell did not like what he heard at all but did not know what to say...

It took a few tries before Bell could activate argonaut himself. They discovered that there is a charging process whereby the white particles would form around Bell. The more he charged, the stronger the magic. The limit to the charging though appeared to be 3 minutes. And when Bell fired off his firebolt with a 3 minute charge, the power was even larger than what was used to kill the baby dragon.

Ais "Bell, this is an amazing attack."

Bell "Thanks Ais"

Excited Ais "It is the most powerful beam attack I have ever seen! There is nothing like it! "

After using the full charge firebolt, Bell did become light headed and had to use several recovery potions. Deciding that was enough, it was time for lunch.

While they worked on the magic, they did not notice something invisible that appeared to have followed them and observed their training...

After the magic testing, they went off to Hestia's potato puff stand. When they got there, the stand was empty. When they checked, several vendors nearby told them that Hestia went off with the guild members an hour ago.

Completely freaked out, Bell and Ais headed for the guild. To get there as soon as possible, Ais actually princess carried Bell while flying at maximum speed using her ariel magic. Again something continued to follow them as they arrived at the guild.


	9. Chapter 9

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Paying the Price **

After discovering Hestia went off with the guild members, Bell and Ais raced towards the guild with Ais princess carrying Bell while flying at maximum speed using her ariel magic. When they arrived, they looked for Eina who was not at her usual location. Misha saw Bell, and immediately guided them to a meeting room.

When they entered, they saw Eina and Royman sitting down with Hestia, Loki, Finn and Riveria.

Eina "Bell-kun, I am glad you came. We tried to find you but could not find you"

Eina continued "Do not worried, Lady Hestia has been found to be innocent. We followed up on Finn's suggestin. We checked into the use of arcanum, and there was no connection of arcanum magic between Hestia's location and the dungeon beyond the launching of the white and red leveling missile. There was no use of monitoring magic, so it was not possible for Hestia to know that you were fighting with a minotaur at the time of your battle", making Bell very very happy and relieved.

At that time, Bell and Hestia hugged and while jumping around in circles.

Eina "However, while Lady Hestia is exonerated, there was use of arcanum monitoring magic by someone else at the Babel. So we will continue to investigate that. It will be very difficult to figure out who violated the rule because there are too many gods who could have been there. "

Eina "Lady Loki, now that Lady Hestia has been exonerated, we do not want to delay your familia's deep dungeon trip any more."

Loki "Good, Finn, you are free to go"

Finn "Well we will need 3 days now that we are able to go."

With that, the meeting as adjourned. Though Hestia and Loki stayed behind to have further discussions with the guild...

\- Still Inside the Guild -

The adventurers had left. So it was only Hestia, Loki and the guild members.

Royman "Ouranos wants to talk to you" so everyone went to Ouranos' chambers.

Ouranos "Hestia, I am sorry. I was wrong"

Hestia "That is alright. It is understandable since I was obviously floating up in the air in the middle of city"

Ouranos "Well someone was purposefully using his or her arcanum to monitor the dungeon"

Loki "Do you know who it is?"

Ouranos "I am not sure, but it originated at the Babel. There are many gods that come and go there so I cannot be sure"

Loki "But you think it is Freya, and Finn already told your people that Ottar was involved somehow"

Ouranos "Yes but there is no positive proof"

Hestia "What did Ottar do?"

Loki "Riveria hired Lulune from the Hermes familia to watch over Bell. When the minotaur attacked Bell, Ottar blocked Lulune from going to assist Bell."

Hestia "Oh I did not know that"

Loki "Then when Ais went to help Bell, Ottar blocked her and got into a battle with Ais. He was able to delay Ais from reaching Bell until Tiona and Tione got there. As Finn, Riveria, Bete and Gareth arrived, Ottar said he was acting on his own accord while leaving the area"

Hestia "Why would Freya want to hurt Bell"

Loki "Well Bell defeated the minotaur, so perhaps Freya thought Bell could defeat the minotaur. Perhaps Ottar helped bring that minotaur up to the 10th floor. Note that the monster used a long sword that is unheard of."

Hestia "Why?"

Loki "Entertainment for one. And consider how much stronger Bell became after that battle. I suspect she wants your boy. "

Ouranos "And that we cannot allow. It is apparent that Bell is the fated one. Automatic leveling and reaching unprecedented stats certainly points to that."

Loki "Evidence all points to this but we cannot be totally sure yet"

Ouranos "Well, I just want you to be aware of this. Ganesha will be on your side so you can count on him"...

\- Outside the Guild -

Finn and Riveria headed towards the Twilight Manor, leaving Bell and Ais to do more training as they pleased. There were no more travel restrictions.

Ais "The 17th floor goliath is spawning today. Want to go test out your argonaut skill?"

Bell "Wow, yes let's go"

After grabbing some potato puffs from a vendor near the Babel, the two headed down the entrance towards the 17th floor. Ais did not do much fighting on the way down, allowing Bell to gain as much excelia as possible while being babysat.

Bell was no longer afraid of minotaurs, killing 5 by himself including the use of the argonaut skill with a physical attack using his dagger, a new discovery. After 3 hours, they reached the 17th floor. Before heading to the goliath area, both drank some recovery potions. The plan was for Ais to distract the goliath while Bell charged up.

As they waited by the wall of lamentation, the goliath finally started to respawn. Ais activated ariel while Bell backed up to charge argonaut. As the enormous monster chased, Ais simply kept out of range of the monster's reach. Bell charged and marveled at Ais' speed which gave the goliath no chance to actually hit her.

Now the goliath also saw Bell charging up, but every time the goliath started heading towards Bell, Ais slashed the monster, infuriating it to chase her as if presenting a red flag in front of a bull. Finally 3 minutes was up and Bell was ready.

Bell "Ais, I am ready"

Ais "Alright", Ais then sped away from the monster. So Bell had a clear shot.

The argonaut charged firebolt was enormous and vaporized the goliath leaving the huge magic stone behind. Ais was really happy that the attack was so successful.

Ais said meekly "Bell, you are going to surpass me soon."

Bell "I have a long way to go"

Tomato red Ais "Will you be my hero then?"

Bell smiled "I have a long way to be worthy of being by your side. But if I earn it, I am going to want everything", leaving Ais really embarrassed thinking about what Bell meant.

Happily, the two adventurers headed back towards the surface. On their way, Bell got the opportunity to slay a lot more monsters. By the time they reached the surface, it was time for dinner. It was a dinner date for 2 at the hostess. Completely defeated, Syr and Ryuu showed them the table and had sad looks on their faces.

\- At the Hestia Home -

Bell came home with a silly smile on his face. Hestia did not want to ask, but she had a good idea it was a good day for Bell. He did tell her about the goliath so both were eager to do his update:

Level 2

Strength: 186

Endurance: 181

Agility: 213

Dexterity: 169

Magic: 358

Magic- firebolt

Skill - liaris freese (hidden), argonaut

Ability: luck

The rise in magic stats was stunning even for Bell.

Hestia "Tell me exactly what happened with the goliath" which Bell explained afterwards.

Hestia "So you basically acted like the mage. Ais distracted the goliath while you charged up. She then flew away and gave you the clear shot. And your magic wiped out the goliath. Since she barely injured the goliath, you got as much of the kill as you could have received."

Bell "That is pretty much what our plan was"

Hestia admitted sadly "Your girlfriend is a really good girl. She helps you more than I have"

Bell protested loudly "Goddess, you have sacrificed just as much for me. In fact you just almost got sent back to heaven because of me"

With that, the 2 hugged again with Bell in tears thanking Hestia for her sacrifices...

After that, Bell told Hestia that he wanted to improve even faster and will practice his magic at night. Curious, Hestia went with him to an abandoned field where Bell repeatedly fired off firebolt and charging argonaut. In between the magic practice sessions, Bell would use several recovery potions. It was clear Bell wanted to improve in an enormous hurry. Near mind down, they returned to their home and Hestia updated him again to show additional improvement:

Strength: 186

Endurance: 181 - 215

Agility: 213

Dexterity: 169

Magic: 358 - 437

Exhausted, Bell fell asleep while he was being updated so Hestia gave him the bed for the night. Hestia then realized the boy had someone to protect...

\- The Next Morning -

Hestia had to go to work early for some reason, but she had instructions for Bell-kun. He should come fetch her at work when he is doing argonaut practices.

Thus Bell went off to meet Ais at the city walls. Bell told her about the goddess' request so they decided to do the magic training first. Soon they were at Hephaestus' store and quickly found Hestia. The 3 then went off to the remote area where they practiced argonaut use. Deep in conversation, none of them noticed something invisible following them again.

Bell then showed Hestia the argonaut charging. And the use of argonaut for physical attacks. With a 10 second charge, Bell was actually able to knock Ais 10 feet back in a single strike. Then it came time for the 3 minute charge firebolt. The power was shocking though Hestia had questions for Ais while they watched.

Hestia "How does this magic compared with Lady Riveria and Lefiya now"

Ais "At level 6, Lady Riveria does not use focused beam attacks so it is not possible to directly compare. My guess is that it would have more dramatic impact on a single target than Lady Riveria's wide area attacks."

Hestia "So it will be more useful against bosses?"

Ais "That would be my guess, but it is impossible to say without a side-by-side comparison. But Bell did take out the 17th floor goliath with a single strike. So the strength of the magic is definitely on the order where bosses can be taken out with a single strike."

Ais continued "Now it is much stronger than Lefiya's focused beam magic. Arcs ray is strong but Bell's strike is many time stronger. Ten times? Probably. A hundred times, probably not."

After 2 hours of magic practice, it was time to return. Before leaving, Hestia had a further request, to have a glimpse of their sparring. Of course, Ais was much stronger and faster, but Bell was not a pushover in the sparring. She scored a few times, but Bell did get a score in himself. The 3 then headed back to the store after the brief demonstration.

On the way back Hestia "Ais, what level would you say Bell's physical fighting skills are at now"

Ais "My estimate is about mid level 3"

Hestia "What about before the minotaur battle?"

Ais "About early or mid level 2 is my best guess. I did not spar with him at that time so Finn and Riveria would know better"

After dropping off Hestia at the store, Ais and Bell went back to the city walls for 2 more hours of sparring and instructions.

\- At the Store -

As Hestia was working, someone pulled on her hair. Annoyed, she turned around but there was no one. A few seconds later, someone flipped her skirt! Furious, she turned around but again the was no one.

Hestia "Whoever this is, show yourself"

Suddenly, someone spoke "Hi Hestia"

Angry Hestia "What type of game is this"

Invisible Hermes "Game? May be I just wanted to see your underwear lol"

Hestia "Hermes what do you want"

Invisible Hermes "You know as well as I know what your child is planning"

Hestia "Make yourself clear"

Invisible Hermes "You know that Bell has someone to protect, and now he thinks he has some ability to protect her"

Hestia "Let's say I agree with you, why would I care to speak to you about it."

Invisible Hermes "Well, Bell's chances would be a lot better if he was invisible, don't you think?"

While Hestia thought about it, invisible Hermes "And my captain Asfi has made other special devices"

Hestia "So what do you want?"

Hermes "A good kiss"

Hestia "What? Hermes you dirty scoundrel"

Hermes "Well do you want to help your child or not"

Hestia "How would I know you would keep your end of the bargain"

Hermes "Well, I Hermes, swear as a god, that I will use all my resources to help your child Bell Cranel if you Hestia would spend a hour with me in my bath in my home. Naked bathing with some hot tender kisses"

Furious Hestia "You just upped your price"

Invisible Hermes "Well, that is the offer. Take it or leave it"

Furious Hestia "Fine, but nothing more. Tonight and it better be completely confidential"

Invisible Hermes "We have a deal as long as you will not attack me in any way" flipping her skirt one more time.

Furious Hestia gave in swallowing her vestal virgin pride "Fine as long as you do not try to turn it into anything more. I will be there at 6pm"

\- At the City Walls -

Bell and Ais practiced for 2 hours before lunch at Hestia's potato puff stand.

Bell "Goddess, you do not seem happy. Is everything alright?"

Hestia trying to look normal "Oh I was still just surprised by your magic. I am fine"

Bell "Alright goddess"

Hestia "What will you do this afternoon?"

Bell "We are going into the dungeon again. We will probably have a late dinner after getting back from the dungeon"

Hestia "That is fine. I have plans tonight also. Oh, let me update you before going into the dungeon"

Finding a secluded spot, Hestia saw the improvement from the morning's work:

Strength: 186 - 216

Endurance: 215 - 248

Agility: 213 - 252

Dexterity: 169 - 193

Magic: 437 - 519

Hestia "Bell, your magic stats would already allow you to level, though I would not recommend it", shocking Ais as it has just been a few days...

Bell "Yes goddess let's wait some more."

After the quick update, Bell and Ais went into the dungeon. With the goliath defeated yesterday, there was no large excelia targets easily reachable. Thus it was simply finding as many monsters as possible before heading back to Orario to sleep. They reached as far as the 23rd floor before Ais used ariel to fly them back to the surface. They were pretty hungry but fortunately the hostess was opened late.

\- At the Hestia Home -

Bell got home around 10pm, but Hestia was still in the shower.

Bell "Goddess, I am home", after which Hestia soon came out of the shower but then brushed her teeth for a really long time.

Bell was surprised by how red she was "Goddess, what happened, why is your skin so red"

Hestia smiled "Oh I just wanted to scrub myself really clean. So I was in the shower for a while..."

The 2 then soon went to bed after a quick update that showed even more progress.

Hestia though had trouble sleeping so she has some questions "Bell, you want to go with Ais, don't you?"

Bell "What do you mean"

Hestia "I am your goddess. I may not read minds but I am not stupid. You want to go in the dungeon with Ais don't you?"

Bell "Of course I do"

Hestia "Bell, again I am your goddess. You need to tell me what you want"

Bell "Alright, yes I want to go into the dungeon with Ais on her trip. The trip is very dangerous, and from what she has said, my argonaut skill may give Ais and her familia a better chance because even their mages do not have such a direct beam weapon."

Hestia "I am sure Ais did not ask you to go?"

Bell "No she did not"

Hestia "I thought so. She is a good girl. I talked to Hermes tonight. He can help us because he has some special capabilities. We should meet with him tomorrow night"

Bell "Really al..." though Bell fell asleep mid sentence as he was exhausted after a long day and using a lot of mind.

Hestia smiled looking at the sleeping boy. Hermes better delivered the goods after the big price she paid today...


	10. Chapter 10

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

Wow Hestia's price got a big reaction. Guess I should not be surprised...

Juan Diego Cornejo - I left it up to reader's imagination...

Marshall Cross Marian - Ouranos comment - if you need to ask, then you dont deserve to know rotflol

Marshall Cross Marian - Hermes - nothing like a little extracurricular fun lol

luhfismk7 - Hermes took good care of Hestia

Marshall Cross Marian - Hestia got some 'mercy' from Hermes

Juan Diego Cornejo - 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Marshall Cross Marian - AIS POWER!

CORRUPTO - glad you like it

mudassar09011 - sorry at least not for now

Marshall Cross Marian - cliffhangers are good for the soul!

**BUSTED**

\- The Next Day -

Bell met Ais for training again. It was another day of argonaut practice, magic practice and sparring. Ais again saw a big improvement in speed and strength but she has come to expect that. Some day soon, Ais expected to be Bell's little girl when he takes the hero mantle, which would literally make her dream and her parents' dream come true.

In the afternoon, they again went back into the dungeon. To save time, Ais flew them straight to the 18th floor. They then had Bell fight monsters until the 23rd floor while Ais babysat. Afterwards it was time for dinner at the hostess. Following dinner, Ais had to return to her familia for a meeting, while Bell had to meet with Hestia and Hermes.

\- At the Hestia Home -

A smiling Hermes came by with a big box.

Hermes winked "Hi Hestia" making Hestia squirm though Bell seemed oblivious.

Hestia had trouble looking Hermes in the eye but did acknowledged his existence.

Hermes "Bell, it is good to see you. I heard you want to go protect your girlfriend in her deep dungeon mission."

Hermes then put on a funny looking helmet and turned invisible, shocking Bell.

After removing the helmet and becoming visible again, Hermes chuckled "Here you both get a Hades Hat. It confers really high level invisibility"

As they accepted the items, Hermes "On the day of the mission, we will meet here and go to the Babel together. The Loki and Hephaestus members will gather near the Babel so we will follow them while being invisible.

Bell and Hestia had some fun playing with Hades Hat.

Hermes winked at Hestia again "Gee, I hope it was as good for you as it was for me", making Hestia squirm even more...

Then Hermes took out a pair of sandals with wings and gave them to Bell.

Hermes "Take good care of Talaria as there are only 2 pairs in existence. They allow you to fly and carry one person, may be two max"

Bell "Thank you Hermes sama. But how do I use these?"

Hermes "My captain Asfi will come by early tomorrow before your training with Ais. She will instruct you on their use"

Hermes "With that, I am going home to bed. Asfi will be here at 6am. Good night", leaving smiling like a dog and whistling in a great mood...

\- The Next Morning -

Asfi arrived at 6pm and gave Bell lessons on flying. It was still early so they were able to take off at a remote area of the city. Each with a pair of Talaria, Asfi held on to Bell's hands while teaching him to take off, land and maneuver. Bell had become quite proficient within 30 minutes, by which time the beauty with azure hair had a pretty strong blush as they continued to hold hands during the practice for safety reasons...

After flight lessons and thanking Asfi, Bell stored the sandals at home and went to meet Ais. It is the last day of training before her mission so she had to go back to her familia before dinner. It was the same argonaut training, magic training and sparring but no dungeon trip for the day. After training, they enjoyed a long good bye kiss and a long hug before Ais headed home.

After Ais left, Bell went off to do more magic practice and argonaut practice. Then he headed home to have dinner with the goddess, and they decided to go to the hostess. After dinner, it was more magic and argonaut practice. Bell was again near mind down when he got home at 10pm.

Hestia updated his stats again, and it was amazing how much he grew within 1 week of leveling.

Strength: 216 - 483

Endurance: 248 - 559

Agility: 252 - 567

Dexterity: 193 - 464

Magic: 519 - 818

Being exhausted, Bell fell asleep again during the update. So Hestia slept on the couch. Bell-kun had been working so hard and needed his rest...

\- The Next Morning -

With the Loki and Hephaestus members meeting at 9am, there was a little time for training. Bell got up early and had a couple hours to practice argonaut and magic before sparring against Lulune and Asfi before heading for the Babel.

As Bell went with Hermes, Asfi and Lulune, Hestia also started to put on her helmet and followed.

Bell "Goddess, where are you going?"

Hestia "I will be going in the dungeon with you. I want to give you the best possible chance, and that means updates in the dungeon"

Bell "!"

Bell "But gods cannot go in the dungeon"

Hermes "Bell-kun, I will also be going. I will not miss this for the world. Hestia and I can both hide our divine auras so it will be fine."

Bell could tell that this also made Asfi uncomfortable, but the 2 deities had made up their mind.

As they put on the helmet, they held hands so they would not lose each other. Soon, they reached the Babel and saw the large group of adventurers who are gathered there.

Bell while invisible "Oh there is Ais. I need to say good bye to her"

Hestia while invisible "Yes that would make sense otherwise she would be sad. But let me give you a final update first"

After the update, Bell then left his helmet with Hestia and ran to see Ais.

Bell running "Ais!"

Ais turned and smiled so brightly when she saw Bell. She was so happy to see Bell.

Tiona pointed "There is the rabbit right on time"

Tione smiled "Wow coming to see her off, that naughty rabbit wants some sweets"

Riveria laughed "Rabbit coming for some love"

Ais "If the 3 of you do not behave, there is more punishment that can be dealt out" making the 3 really scared again.

While Bete was jealous with another scene of the young lovers, he smiled relishing more punishment for the amazons and Riveria...

As Bell and Ais hugged and kissed, everyone kept quiet and behaved. Though there was a certain elf mage with very droopy ears who looked like her soul had left her body... Soon Finn gave the order to move ahead so Bell saw Ais off as she was in the 1st of two groups traveling down the dungeon.

Bell then went back to where his group was and soon an invisible hand grabbed him and another invisible hand handed him a Hades Hat. Once invisible again, they quickly followed Ais' group down the dungeon. The march was unlike any other trip into the dungeon for Bell. There were essentially no monster contacts all the way to the 18th floor. Monsters were not that stupid. On the 18th floor, as the large group ate at Rivira, Bell and his group ate from rations to stay hidden from the large group.

After lunch, there were monster contacts including wasps, mammouth fools and lizardmen. So both Asfi and Bell activated Talaria to avoid most monsters. Even with some monster contacts, the large group continued to move quickly and soon reached the water city. As they travel through the water wonder, Bell and Hestia were amazed by the beauty of the place. However, when they reached the 26th floor, white particles starting floating around Bell's invisible hand. There must be trouble coming up...

Suddenly they saw a 2 headed dragon breathing blue flames and crimson mist. Soon that dragon started to attack the group that Ais was in. Ais, Tiona, Bete and Tione quick reacted to engage the monster, but Ais was injured with a lucky shot from the dragon. With already 2 minutes of argonaut charging, Bell was not about to allow the monster to attack the injured Ais. Forgetting about staying undetected, Bell fired off a huge argonaut firebolt that burnt off both heads of the dragon, shocking the group on the ground. With the 2 heads gone, Tiona and Tione quickly finished off the dragon so it had no chance to regenerate. After Riveria poured potion on Ais, Ais realized what had happened.

Serious Ais yelled into the sky "Bell Cranel, you COME DOWN this minute! And I mean NOW!" making everyone wonder what was going on.

Completely busted, Bell and Hestia came down to land.

As Bell was heading down, Finn questioned "Bell fired off that cannon?"

Ais "Yes"

Riveria smiled "That is the most powerful magic beam I have ever seen"

Ais "Yes but you have to ask him about it. I am sworn to secrecy"

Tiona was really happy "Wow, the argonaut is so amazing! Argonaut has a big cannon. Ais is a lucky girl" earning a bonk in the head from Riveria.

Riveria smiled "I guess Bell used his weapon to protect you. He could not bear to see you injured"

Ais "Yes but once he has used it, he gets very tired for a few hours. Now we have to protect him."

Soon, Bell and Hestia landed, shocking everyone with a goddess in the dungeon.

Finn smiled "Bell, I see you are using Perseus' flying item and invisibility item", which Bell admitted to.

Riveria "Lady Hestia, may I ask why are you in the dungeon"

Hestia "Bell came to protect Ais, and I came to protect Bell"

Finn "Lady Hestia, how would you be protecting Bell"

Hestia "By updating him as often as possible, like after this boss event" as Bell used a recovery potion.

As the Loki executives waited, Hestia quickly updated Bell who had a 200 point increase in magic and a 30 point increase in endurance. With Bell's magic stats above 1000, that already made the trip worth it to Hestia.

Finn "Lady Hestia, the dungeon may react with your presence. The amphisbaena was not supposed to spawn at this time..."

Hestia defended "I am hiding my aura. The monster spawning may be a coincidence or a reaction of the dungeon to a large group of adventurers..."

Ais smiled "Bell you protected me"

Sheepish Bell "I am sorry I was sneaky. You can spank me too" but instead received a sweet kiss, which caused the Loki executives to think about the UNFAIRNESS of things...

Finn deciding on talking things thoroughly with Bell and Hestia "Alright everyone, lets stop here for now and talk this over. We may as well have an early dinner here."

Riveria "Bell, can you tell us about the magic that you just used?"

Hestia interrupted "This needs to be kept completely confidential ... (gets nods) ... It is his firebolt with a special skill called argonaut. The skill may be the ultimate hero's shot that gives you a chance even when things look bad"

Bell "I can charge for up to 3 minutes. The longer I charge, the stronger the magic"

Tiona fangirled waving her arms wildly "Argonaut with the argonaut skill, I knew it", earning a bonk on the head from her sister.

Finn "Was that the full charge we saw?"

Bell "No, I only charged about 2 minutes"

Ais "Yes, the spell can be stronger than what we just saw"

Finn laughed "Well with that power, we would welcome you but what about your safety? And the goddess' safety?"

Riveria "It is too dangerous to bring Lady Hestia to the 59th floor. It is probably too dangerous to leave her even at the 50th floor where we plan to keep base camp."

Finn "It is better we take her back to the 18th floor. She already updated you after the amphisbaena. There are no other bosses expected."

Hestia "With his role in the amphisbaena, he has earned a level up. To be the most helpful in your mission, Bell wants me to level him up to level 3. While his magic is now around s, his other stats have a long way to go. I am willing to sacrifice some of his stats, but it would far better if I level him on the 50th floor. I am willing to take the risk"

Riveria "Around s? It has not been that long since the minotaur!"

Finn thought about it and offered a compromise "Lady Hestia, I must also consider your safety. How about we compromise. We stay here for 2 days. We learn to fight as a group with Bell. Then you level him and we leave you in Rivira before heading down."

Hestia smiled "5 days"

Finn smiled "3 days is my last offer"

Hestia smiled "3 days and then 1/2 day for me to return to the 18th floor. That is right down the middle and is my last offer"

Finn smirked "Goddess, you drive a hard bargain..." as the two shook on it.

Finn "In that case, let's go down to the 33rd floor for tonight. That is close enough to the colosseum floors so Bell can receive a lot of excelia with his cannon"

Having decided that, the group finished dinner and then headed to the 33rd floor.

That night, Bell sparred with Ais, Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Tiona, Tione and Bete. They wanted Bell to understand each executive's fight style to coordinate better. Afterwards, the wolf also taught Bell some tricks for dual wielding daggers. After sparring, Bell practiced argonaut charging and magic until he was almost mind down again.

The next three days were more sparring with the executives and Ais, Tione, Tiona and Bete took Bell to the 37th floor everyday. On the 37th floor, Bell could use his argonaut firebolt against large groups of monsters in colosseums. Then before bed, it was more magic and argonaut training until he is near mind down every night.

After the 3 days, Bell, Ais, Finn and Tione delivered Hestia to Rivira. In her hotel room, Hestia leveled Bell to level 3 about 2 weeks after he reached level 2. Of course Hestia wished for one more day, but she was still very pleased with the results. Beyond breaking another record, Bell's magic stat was almost 1500 while both the endurance and agility stats were beyond s level.

Level 3

Strength: 879- 0

Endurance: 1001 - 0

Agility: 1134 - 0

Dexterity: 853 - 0

Magic: 1489 - 0

Magic - firebolt

Skill - Liaris Freese (hidden), Argonaut

Development ability - luck, abnormal resistance

Before Bell, Ais, Tiona and Tione returned to the rest of the group, they ran into a large contingent of the Hermes familia, who were happy to bring Hestia back the surface with them. That night, Finn asked Bell to back off of the argonaut and magic practice. Without Hestia, there is no more updates so he wanted Bell to get some rest. Instead Bell attended a meeting where they discussed the jewel fetus threat and the creatures.

After the meeting, Bell and Ais finally had some time to cuddle and lap pillow a bit, though a certain elf mage was again devastated by the scene...

\- The Next Day -

It was time to head down the dungeon for their date with destiny...


	11. Chapter 11

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**All Out War**

It was time to descend deeper into the dungeon. Starting from the 33rd floor, the 2 groups marched toward their date with destiny. There was no longer need to travel in 2 separate groups. As they marched down, Ais, Finn and Riveria continued to teach Bell about the dungeon for these deep floors, what to watch for and even the types of monsters and their weaknesses. These were areas that Eina has not yet discussed with Bell.

Now that they are on their real mission, Finn had Bell hold back on the use of argonaut. In a difficult battle, they effectively had one or at max two uses of the cannon. And the second use would likely result in a mind zero. So Bell needs to conserve his energy and mind. Strange how a level 3 newbie had become a central weapon in their plan.

As they went deeper and deeper, Ais stayed with Bell, while Tione, Tiona and Bete were in the vanguard. Bell basically did no fighting when they reached the 50th floor. There were no bosses in the way. So even in colosseums, the Loki executives were more than able to take care of all the monsters even with Ais staying with Bell.

They sat up camp on the 50th floor. As the Hephaestus members sharpened weapons, an early dinner was cooked and served. After dinner, Bell had plenty of time to spar with Ais, Finn and the other executives. The next day, the Loki executives would be only bringing Lefiya, Bell, Tsubaki the Hephaestus captain and Raul with them below. The rest of the Loki members and Hephaestus members stayed on the 50th floor in a defensive posture.

The march to the 59th floor down was tough. There were fireballs being shot through the floor from the 58th floor. While Lefiya was distracted being annoyed with Bell, a spider attacked ended with Lefiya falling through a vertical hole. That forced Tiona, Tione, Bete and Gareth to plunge down the same hole to save her. There was Ein who had numerous monsters attack them. They had to fight a large number of virgas and varlang dragons, particularly on the 58th floor where dragons kept spawning and virgas kept entering. Though through the entire march, Bell was protected by Ais and Finn.

Nevertheless, after a 'break' and Tsubaki sharpened their weapons. Riveria casted a fresh application of Veil Breathe as defensive layer before they headed into the entrance for the 59th floor.

Once on the 59th floor, they were in a hot jungle instead of a glacier floor as reported by the Zeus familia 15 years ago. As they walked through the jungle, they saw this very tall green monster from far away. Figuring this was their enemy, they headed towards it. As they got closer, the monster had a beautiful girl's face and upper body.

Monster proclaimed "Aria, Aria, come to me, be one with me"

Ais freaked out a bit, and Bell realize the monster and Ais may share some common background and he remembered Aria was the name of the wind spirit from 1000 years ago who married Albert...

Finn "It is a demi spirit, formed with a jewel fetus!", and the fighters ran towards the monster to attack it. Soon Finn's thumb much more than normal and he realized the monster was singing a long chant magic!

Realizing the danger, Finn had everyone fall back.

Finn "Everyone, we must stop the monster from using its long chant magic. Fire everything you have. Riveria put up your strongest defense. Bell, this is the time to use argonaut. Make sure you fire before the monster does even if you are not fully charged"

Magic swords were used, but the attacks did not get through its protective leaves. Lefiya used her fire magic Fusillade Fallarica but that was also useless against the monster's defenses. It was a chanting race. Riveria's Via Shilheim vs. the monster's spell. As the demi spirit's chant was near completion, Bell fired off his argonaut firebolt with two minutes of charging.

Everyone was cheering as Bell's cannon shot through the defenses and most of the human top half was burnt away.

However, they noticed regeneration! And it was rapidly recovering! As they launched more magic weapon attacks, a high green wall came up from below that blocked the magic weapon attacks.

Finn "Hurry, charge, lets attack before it recovers", leading a charge of Ais, Tiona, Tione, Bete and Gareth.

As the fighters charged, Riveria starting chanting her most powerful attack spell Rea Laevateinn as Bell used many recovery potions. Gareth was able to get through the first wall, but green tentacles penetrated his body and knocked him out of the battle. With a hole in the wall, the fighters went through but yet another wall came up from below!

By that point, Riveria was almost ready to fire her attack spell, so the fighters retreated back while carrying Gareth.

Riveria "Rea Laevateinn", and the fire burnt down the 2 green walls. But what they saw behind the war was a completely recovered demi spirit that started singing another long chant magic.

Thus Riveria raced to chant her Via Shilheim spell. They also tried magic weapons but they were again blocked by the monster's defense, as well as Lefiya's arcs ray. Bell desperately tried to activate argonaut but could not get it up. So he started using more and more recovery potions.

Finally Riveria was able to get her shield up before the monster launched a firestorm at them. The shield held against the spell for a while but it then started to crack. As Riveria held on as long as she could, Lefiya activated her Dio Grail shield. When Riveria's shield completely broke, Dio Grail provided protection through the remainder of the firestorm though they did get burnt to some degree. As they started to prepare to charge, the monster started chanting again.

Riveria "It has enough energy for another long chant!"

Finn "Use whatever we have left" as more weapon attacks that were blocked. Bell still could not get argonaut up, so he kept using recovery potions. Lefiya also started using recovery potions as she could activate more shield spells. After several potions, Riveria did not have enough mind left for another Via Shilheim but applied another Veil Breath protective layer.

Soon, the monster launched meteor swarm which overwhelmed Lefiya's shield. Even though Veil Breath had some benefits, their injured bodies were scattered all over the battlefield. As they lied on the ground defeated, the demi spirit open its 2 flowers to recharge by sucking up magic energy from the virgas that just entered the floor from above and below.

Lying down in great pain, Bell saw Ais and his new friends seemingly defeated. He could see the monster was drawing in more power for more attacks, but he could not do anything about it. He then saw an image of his grandfather but he knew that was impossible. Though the image said that heroes may fall down but they always get up to fight to save the girl.

Bell kept trying and trying and trying with all his heart and might. He could not get up, but suddenly, a grand bell chimed that shook the entire floor. And white particles gathered all around Bell.

Finn saw what happened and he was really proud of the young boy. Using what will power he had left, he got up.

Finn "Everyone, you hear the grand bell? It is calling out to you. Young Bell Cranel is fighting back. He is charging his cannon and is trying to lead us. An adventurer of only 5 weeks is fighting back. Are you going to just keep lying there? Or are you not worthy to stand by young Bell Cranel's side"

Finn's words hurt. They hurt a lot. The pride of all the defeated Loki members were kicked and kicked hard. Bete was furious as the boy he called useless and trash was fighting back when he could not. His wolf pride simply could not stomach that. Soon the wolf was the first to stand up. Then it was Ais who was not going allow her boyfriend to stand alone. Then it was the amazon sisters.

Seeing that Riveria and Gareth are still down. Finn "Riveria and Gareth, you continue to sleep. I guess this is the day you have met your match. But we will go fight now."

Finn then led another charge with the amazon sisters, Bete and Ais. Furious with themselves, Riveria and Gareth finally got up and each quickly used a potion. And then Lefiya, Raul and Tsubaki soon followed and got up.

As the grand bell chimed, the fighters raced towards the monster, but another green wall came up. Gareth joined them as they were unable to get through the wall. Realizing Bell's cannon was their most powerful magic attack, Riveria stayed behind with Lefiya, Raul and Tsubaki to protect Bell. While Riveria healed Bell as he charged, Lefiya launched Fusillade Fallarica to take out incoming virgas, limiting the food source of the demi spirit.

Soon, Gareth got the fighters passed the wall after being punctured again by attacking plant tentacles. But another green wall soon came up to block their way. They furiously attacked the wall, but it was useless. By then it was 3 minutes and the monster started to sing while the grand bell was still tolling as Bell was still charging.

At the 4 minute mark, the bell stopped and the monster launched a medium chant magic, which was met by the limit-off argonaut firebolt. As the boy suffered a mind zero, the firebolt broke through, burning down the wall and completely burning away the human body top half of the monster. However, the monster started regenerating immediately.

With the last wall burnt down, Tione, Tiona, Bete, Ais and Finn raced through. As they got near to the monster, it had regenerated and launched thunder ray at them. But the two amazon sisters used their bodies to protect the others. Thus Bete, Finn and Ais continued towards the monster. It was the monster's last line of defense, a horde of sharp green tentacles. Finn and Bete then occupied the tentacles while Ais blew through using ariel. It was now Ais vs. the demi spirit in hand-to-hand combat.

As Ais charged towards the demi spirit in ariel, it launched icicle edge at Ais with a no-chant magic but was intercepted by Lefiya's arcs ray. At that point, Ais tried to cut the monster but was slapped really hard across the room against a wall. Gathering herself, Ais launched herself at the monster in ariel, and then performed her finishing move, lil lafarga as the demi spirit casted Light Burst magic at her. The wind magic won out, and Ais destroyed the monster's magic stone.

With victory, Ais walked back to her group. She could see the amazon twins were up celebrating after having poured healing potions on themselves. Gareth, Finn and Bete seemed to be in decent shape to walk after also healing themselves. Same with Lefiya, Raul, Riveria and Tsubaki. The only one down was Bell who was being tended to by Riveria.

Really worried, Ais checked on Bell, but Riveria calmed her "It is just a mind down, but he was the real hero today"

Finn added "He protected us in the shootout, and he led the counter attack. You should be proud of him as he definitely deserved to stand by your side"

Ais smiled, and even the wolf added "Rabbit did really well today. I am totally amazed"

Above them somewhere, they could hear someone yelling "I, Hermes, have witnessed the most incredible battle by Orario's heros!" making their wince at the thought of yet another god in the dungeon.

As Tiona kept on going on about argonaut and Tione kept bonking her on the head to shut up. Tsubaki were thanking the gods for the opportunity to watch such a spectacular battle. Back in Orario, Ouranos and Fels were able to watch and listen to battle, and they were also amazed with the adventurer with only 5 weeks of experience.

Looking around the 59th floor, it had been burnt down by magic from the group and the monster. They decided to go back towards the 50th floor as they had spent up most of their mind. So Raul princess carried Bell while everyone else protected the group from virgas and the flying dragons.

In the Loki camp on the 50th floor, Bell finally woke up as Ais was giving him a lap pillow. He was glad to wake up to the familiar hand petting his hair.

Ais "Congrats Bell, we won thanks to you"

Bell "What happened after I blacked out?"

Ais "You opened the attack path and we were able to work together to take the demi spirit out. It was really close. Lefiya was able to protect me at the end before I could use lil lafarga on it."

Bell "Sounds like you made the final strike"

Ais "Yes, but it was an effort made possible by you and the rest of the team"

At that point, Finn and Riveria came by to check on Bell.

Finn "Bell, I am glad you are up. You were quite the hero today. Congrats!"

Riveria "Yes Bell. I would say you definitely earned the right to stand by Ais. To think that you had to sneak into our party, but yet you were the one who saved us, and twice. All because of your feelings for our princess."

Bell and Ais blushed, while Ais thought about what Bell meant when he said he wanted 'everything' when he could stand by her side... **part of Ais was completely and absolutely terrified and wanted to run for her life!**

Soon, the amazon twins came by as well as Bete who actually looked contrite.

Tiona "Argonaut, you were amazing. Your cannon saved us and opened the way to our attack!"

Tione "Well done rookie. But you are a level 3 now so I cannot call you rookie any more"

Bete "Well... Bell. I want to apologize what I said previously. You are not trash and certainly not useless. I am really impressed with how you fought and how you continued to fight despite being knocked down. You led us to victory. I was wrong and you have my apologies.", shocking all the other executives.

Bell bowed "Bete, thank you for what you have said, and I hope to be friends with you and continue to learn from you."

Tiona stunned "The wolf apologized?!"

Tione shocked "Wow I still do not believe it.

Riveria smiled "Will wonders never cease"

Finn being the leader "Well everyone, it is good that Bete has acknowledged Bell's bravery. That makes him a bigger wolf"

Tiona cheered "Yahoooo, big wolfie!"

At that point, Gareth, Raul and Tsubaki also joined the conversation with each expressing their thanks to Bell. They all knew that they may only have survived because Bell was in their party.

The only member of the raiding party who did not join in was Lefiya, who sat quietly by herself still looking sad with droopy ears...


	12. Chapter 12

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Bad Behavior**

After 1 night on the 50th floor, the large group headed back up. Hermes and Asfi joined their travel group by that point, as Asfi apologized profusely to the Loki executives for their intrusion. The presence of another god in the dungeon just left Finn and Riveria speechless other than a chuckle from Finn...

Still with no more bosses to fight, the typical monsters were not a challenge. Ais stayed next to Bell as his bodyguard, though Finn approved firebolt use after they reached the 40th floor. After lunch on the 35th floor, Bell was allowed to physically fight, but Ais was always by his side. By then, everyone could tell that Bell was already fighting like a mid level 4. So the precautions were a bit over the top, though it was certainly understandable as he only reached level 3 a couple days ago...

By the end of the day, they were on the 18th floor. To their surprise, Hestia was still there along with members of the Hermes familia!

Puzzled Finn "Lady Hestia, I thought you were going back to the surface"

Hestia "Well, several of the Hermes members suddenly came down with a strange poisoning so we waited. By the time they got better, we were at risk with the goliath respawning. So they decided to wait for your return. It is just as well because I now can give Bell an update!" So Hestia and Bell went off to her hotel room and the update showed a shocking increase in magic.

Level 3

Strength: 0 - 120

Endurance: 0 - 238

Agility: 0 - 146

Dexterity: 0 - 115

Magic: 0 - 399

Magic - firebolt

Skill - Liaris Freese (hidden), Argonaut

Development ability - luck, abnormal resistance

When Hestia and Bell returned to the group, Hestia had a lot of questions about what happened. The demi spirit, the 59th floor, did creatures show up, how Bell fought, what happens next,... etc. And she was very pleased with Bell's performance. Bell's key role in the battle with the demi spirit certainly explained the huge jump in magic and endurance stats.

As it was getting late, the entire group had a big meal in Rivira. They were planning to stay the night, as the girls wanted to take a bath the next morning at a hot spring before returning to the surface. The dinner was quite a feast. Bell sat next to Ais with Hestia on his other side. A few seats from Hestia was Hermes who had a silly grin on his face. Also next to Ais were Riveria, Finn and Gareth. Across from Ais were the amazon sisters and the elf mage who looked totally miserable and soul-less.

Finn led the first round of cheers "I want to thank everyone for a job well done and a successful mission to the 59th floor. It was historic and we had an incredible battle. We fought for our lives, but we came out on top. A great deal of thanks is owed to Bell Cranel. A lot of you may not be his friend, but I want you to at least give him due respect for what he accomplished after such a short career as an adventurer. He did everything he could to protect us and then in fact led the counter-attack when everyone else was lying on the ground. So here is to victory and thank you Bell!", as all the Loki and Hephaestus members joined in and cheered on heartily.

After the main course was over, Tiona and Tione came over during dessert to talk to Bell and Ais.

While Ais fed Bell a honey cloud, Tiona pulled on one of Bell's arms "Argonaut-kun, you must teach us how you grow so quickly!"

Bell "... I just want to be worthy to stand by Ais' side"

Tione then pulled on Bell's other arm while pushing her assets towards his face "Come on Bell-kun, you need to share your secrets as we are Ais' sisters! Share with us and we will reward you!"

Bell "... but that is all I know ..."

Ais watched the show and watched and watched, but after a while, she was steamed with steam coming out of her ears...

Ais "Heyyyyyy, stop playing with my bunny!"

Tiona "Come on, sis, you need to share!" hugging Bell some more.

Tione "Ais, tell Bell to help us grow faster!" also hugging Bell tightly.

Ais pulled out the wooden paddle, which immediately got the sisters really scared but they still held on to Bell.

Ais "Ohhhhh, that is it, it is punishment time!"

While the twins tried to escape, Ais chased them all over the camp. Finn and Gareth watched and laughed nervously while Riveria had a headache.

Hermes then came by to talk to Bell "Bell-kun, when we go back to the surface, what are you planning to do?"

Bell "Well the goddess and I would like to focus on growing the familia. There is a supporter I would like to invite as well as a smith I have a contract with. All assuming if they are willing"

Hermes "That sounds like a good idea. I presume the smith is from the Hephaestus familia but what about the supporter?"

Bell "She is from the Soma familia", immediately making Riveria worried.

Noticing the look on Riveria's face, Bell reassured "Oh we had an issue with that, but we got through it, making Riveria feel a bit better. She definitely had to talk to Ais about that later...

Ais soon carried two defeated amazons with eyes spinning around and around back to the banquet, earning hushed laughs from the senior executives. Bell was also worried if the sisters were too harshly spanked.

Ais sat the two down "Remember, it is my bunny and my bunny only!" while the 2 sisters begged for an end to punishment...

After dinner, Bell had a nice chat with Hestia about attracting members and having good food at the Hostess. In fact, the Loki familia will be having a big celebration at the Hostess and they will be honored guests.

After the chat with Hestia, Bell went to do some sparring with Ais, who soon noticed that Bell had gotten even stronger after his update. He was starting to physically fight like a first class adventurer! Finn, Riveria and Gareth watched the sparring, and they came to the same conclusion.

\- The Next Morning -

After breakfast, the girls went off to their bath at the hot spring, while taking turns guarding the bathing area from peepers.

The guys were left to themselves knowing that peeping attempts would be punished severely. Hermes then went to Bell.

Hermes looking serious "There is something I would like to discuss with you in private"

Bell "Alright Hermes sama"

Hermes "Follow me", taking Bell to a wooded area near their location. Soon he pointed Bell to follow him up a tree.

Surprised Bell "?"

Hermes seriously "It is more private up there" so Bell obliviously followed him.

When Hermes went on a large branch and waved Bell to follow, Bell went along. And then Hermes pointed down, and when Bell looked, he saw all the girls nude bathing in the hot steamy area.

Bell was surprised at the wonderful view "Beautiful, but they are going to kill us!" even though he remembered his grandfather saying peeping is important for all heroes.

Hermes smiled "They cannot kill what they cannot see"

When Bell saw the nude Ais and Hestia down there, he could not allow Hermes to see them in that state! He tried to push Hermes away from the view. But as the two struggled, they ended up falling into the water together.

The huge splash got the attention of all the girls, bathing and guarding. Bell got up coughing out water, and was instantly greeted by 3 amazon girls. Hermes on the other hand was punched by Asfi his captain.

Tiona "Argonaut, you came to bathe with us!" splashing water at him.

Tione "Wow, you are something else! I am impressed" pushing her huge assets towards the rabbit boy.

Tsubaki "Yet another first for Hestia's rookie" ready to provide Bell with some nourishment herself.

But remembering to protect the privacy of Ais and the goddess, Bell checked on Hermes. Fortunately by that time, Hermes was already knocked out and being carried away by Asfi. It looked like his punishment is going to be severe. As Bell turned to check on Hermes, he also turned directly into a gorgeous view of Ais with nothing left to imagination.

Ais' face immediately heated up tomato red thinking again about what Bell meant by "EVERYTHING"...


	13. Chapter 13

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

Juan Diego Cornejo - I see you got something for the high elf, you dirty dog

luhfismk7 - Hermes definitely gets more attention : )

Marshall Cross Marian - Rabbit Power!

luhfismk7 - So you want the hero back...

ivananthony guison - regarding Hestia brushing her teeth, you need to read the previous chapter...

Marshall Cross Marian - Dont worry, the elf will more attention soon. Executives indeed learned that there is no FAIRNESS in love. Ouranos does not care about what peons think, and Ais paddle is one of the most powerful weapons in the universe.

**Fitting Punishment**

When Bell saw the Ais and Hestia nude bathing in the water, he wanted to stop Hermes from enjoying that view. However the two guys ending up falling into the water together. While Hermes was knocked unconscious by Asfi, Bell came into full view of the sword princess with nothing left to imagination.

While the view was wonderful, Bell knew that he was in big trouble, though Ais did not cover up but instead looked down while being tomato red. Bell realized the best solution was for him to leave asap from the location. So he ran away screaming "I am sorry" though the 3 amazons chased and begged the rabbit hero to bathe with them...

One of the guards was the elf mage who had been in a horrible mood, and she became so incensed that she started to chant arcs ray. Fortunately, another guard Anakitty was able to jump on Lefiya to stop the casting of the spell. During the entire mess, Ais was more focused on whether the full nude reveal may be a prelude to what Bell meant by "EVERYTHING"...

After Bell left, the girls got together to discuss what happened. Most of them did not believe Bell wanted to peep though Lefiya disagreed and Tsubaki was not sure. However, they did have to deal with Hermes first. So they got covered up, and Asfi woke Hermes up with a barrel of cold water for interrogation. After a severe beating by Asfi, Hermes finally confessed that it was all his idea. They then had to decide on the form of Hermes' punishment and they wanted something with serious future deterrence impact. Asfi thought about sewing his mouth shut for 1 day, and that had its benefits. However Hestia's suggestion ultimately won. The punishment had Hermes spend 2 hours with the captain of the Ishtar familia, which happened to passing by Rivira at the same time. Horrible screams were heard from a hotel room after the girls chipped in the valis for Phryne Jamil's services...

Asfi "He really earned it this time..." as everybody became scared of the Hermes captain with her severe beating of her god.

Riveria "I almost feel sorry for him"

Bete thought "Wow that is some serious punishment. I better keep my mouth shut again..."

Finn "He may never be the same again..."

Gareth "A matter of mind over matter"

Asfi "Unfortunately, he is very resilient"

A bit later, Bell came back and he did many dogezas to apologize to all the girls affected. Ais was really embarrassed near Bell, but the amazons all invited him to join them for their next bath. While they had rubber duckies, they lacked a cute white rabbit in their bath. Riveria also tried to calm everyone down when Bell apologized, but Lefiya was still furious that Ais was seen totally nude by the boy. The Ais defense squad had never failed before, which only added to the boy's growing legend...

At that time, the horrible screams of 'just kill me!' from the hotel had Bell wondering what happened. When Tiona told Bell what Hermes' punishment was, Bell was so horrified that he accidentally groped Lefiya on top and at the bottom as he instinctively reached for a security blanket in front of everyone. Blushing madly but furious at the same time, Lefiya chased the frightened rabbit until they were far from their camp. When they became lost in the woods of the 18th floor, Lefiya blamed everything on Bell.

Angry Lefiya "How dare you peep on all the girls"

Sheepish Bell "It was not my intent. And I ran away and apologized as soon as I could"

Mature Bell "Look, I am really sorry this happened, but it was not my intent. "

Skeptical Lefiya "How could you possibly climb a tree and not realize what was going on"

Sincere Bell "I was stupid, and I am sorry for being stupid."

Annoyed Lefiya "Talk is cheap"

Contrite Bell "There is nothing else that can be done at this time. I cannot go back in time to undo this."

Annoyed Lefiya "But you have already laid eyes on Miss Ais' sacred body. Until now, Ais' defense squad had never failed."

Curious Bell "I did not want to peep on Ais, but why are you only focused on Ais. There were many girls who were seen nude."

Lefiya on defensive "Because Miss Ais' body is sacred"

Bell "But what about my goddess, and Tiona, and Tione, and Tsubaki, and all the other girls there?"

Lefiya on defensive "But Miss Ais is the most special"

Bell "Ais is special and very special to me. But I am equally sorry to the other girls. I dont understand why you are only focused on Ais."

Annoyed Lefiya "Because you do not have the right to violate Miss Ais"

Straight faced Bell "It sounds like you are not just upset about this incident, but instead you are just obsessed with Ais."

With Lefiya speechless, Bell continued "You may be at a difficult age, but you are 1 year older than me. You need to understand that Ais and I are dating. And that we like each other. "

Indignant Lefiya "How dare you say that!"

Straight forward Bell "We are dating. That is the simple truth. And you need to understand that we will be even closer when I am worthy of standing by her side"

Angry Lefiya "How dare you say such things about Miss Ais"

Blunt Bell "I am Ais' boyfriend and she likes me as her boyfriend. I know she likes you as a close friend, but I dont think she likes you in the same way you like her."

Being completely and blatantly exposed, furious Lefiya exploded "You stupid human" crying and ran away...

Realizing they were lost, Bell chased after her as they were near the other side of the floor. Just as Bell caught up to her, they fell into a large hole filled with water.

Annoyed Lefiya "Look what you have done. I am all wet"

Bell smirked "You are all wet alright :)"

Furious Lefiya "I hate you, you stupid human!"

As they argued, suddenly two huge long tentacles speared at them. Detecting the sneak attack at the last second, Bell was able to push Lefiya out of the way though his leg was injured somewhat. As they impacted the wall, Bell ended up pressing hard on Lefiya and discovered she had large cushions that were hidden by the old fashion clothes. Remembering the monster, Bell brought out both daggers and fought against the two long tentacles. He was able to fought roughly to a draw, while Lefiya recovered from being pressed hard onto the wall.

Bell "I can only distract it, you need to shoot at it"

Furious at being order around, she looked at the boy, who was fighting brilliantly against the tentacles from the monster attached to the top of the hole. Despite her anger at the boy, he was certainly protecting her as the mage.

Thus doing her job as the mage despite her anger at the boy, Lefiya "I may hate you but I will trust you in the battle", then she started chanting arcs ray as Bell continue to fight the tentacles.

Seeing the magic circle formed under Lefiya, the monster used a sonic wave attack that disrupted Lefiya's chant and caused them great discomfort and disorientation. Furthermore, one of the tentacles managed to catch Lefiya's legs and hung her upside down in mid air.

Lefiya was very embarrassed hanging upside down with her dressed completely flipped offering Bell a clear view of her underwear.

Embarrassed Lefiya "Don't look"

Bell "Are you serious? We are trying to survive. And those little pink teddybears are kind of eye-catching", making Lefiya nose bleed and furious at the same time.

Realizing that her clothes were starting to disintegrate, she finally understood that they are in the tummy of the monsters.

Lefiya "Human, we are in its stomach. Its stomach acid is attacking our clothes and our body", as her elf modesty was indeed in enormous danger.

Bell then launched rapid-fire 10 firebolts at the monster's body attached to the top of the hole. The spells damaged the sound emitting crown of the monster and stopped the sonic attack. Bell then freed Lefiya from the tentacle's grip with a couple slashes as he jumped high up. He then caught the free-falling Leifya in a princess carry, though her clothes were then in complete tatters and Bell had a perfect view of her disintegrating underwear including little pink teddybears.

Leifya "My clothes! Dont look! You lecher!"

Bell ordered while putting her down "You are one year older than me, but you are acting like a 10 year old! Shut up and start chanting!"

After being yelled at, Leifya started chanting as Bell once again defended them against the tentacles. With the monster having lost its sonic attack, Bell was able to defend Leifya for long enough for arcs ray. The spell was having a big impact on the body of the monster but it was not enough. As Lefiya kept pouring on her magic to continue the bombardment, Bell started charging. After 20 seconds, he fired off a short charge firebolt. With the 2 attacks combined, they finally ended the monster. Seeing the acid's continued effects, the 2 immediately jumped out of the hole.

Unfortunately, the huge magic light show attracted the attention of two masked men who were furious that their Venenthes was destroyed. Apparently they were trainers, and they quickly sent many green snake-like plant monsters at Bell and Lefiya.

Once again, Bell princess carried the essentially-naked Lefiya to avoid the attacks, but he was not able to mount much of a defense. While he used his rabbit speed and agility to escape, the plant monsters kept attacking. As Bell continued to dodge, white particles started to form around Bell's body. After almost a minute or dodging, Bell tossed Leifya very high up in the air and then launched an argonaut firebolt at the monsters before trying to catch her in another princess carry cradle.

When her soft cushions broke her fall against Bell's face, Lefiya screamed as her elf modesty was violated again "You enemy of women! You pervert!" desperately trying to separate Bell's face from her full level of comfort.

Seeing that a couple plant monsters survived the blast, Bell "I caught you so you wont get hurt, and I am trying to save our lives. Now do something before we die"

As the almost-naked rabbit continued to carry the almost-naked elf, Lefiya finally got her bearings and started chanting Fusillade Fallarica. The spell then destroyed the remaining monsters and badly injured the 2 masked men who appeared to be lying unconscious now.

Having secured their survival, Bell put down the almost-naked elf, who was desperately looking for something to cover herself with. While little to nothing was left to imagination for Bell, she may still run into others. Being a gentleman, he gave her the remainder of his jacket which covered her bottom. Because he was not about to give her his underwear, Bell had nothing else to offer and Lefiya started trying to use a large leaf.

At that time, voices from some distance away called out to Bell and Lefiya. It was the Loki executives who also saw the magic shooting into the sky. Soon, in full view of the near-naked human boy and near-naked elf girl in almost their full glory, Ais and mini-Ais were both shocked!


	14. Chapter 14

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**Getting to the Real Truth**

\- On the Far Side of the 18th Floor -

Ais and Mini-Ais were shocked to see Bell in his underwear together with Lefiya using a leaf for a top and half of Bell's jacket for her bottom. What in the world were they doing in the forest together? Is something going on between Bell and Lefiya !

Unspeakable thoughts raced through Ais' mind. Horrible thoughts. Terrible thoughts. Taboo thoughts. Her mind was going a million miles a minute. Eyes were started to roll around and around. Pout was on turbo mode. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. Bell. Lefiya. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE...

Everyone did not know what to think, but Tiona and Tione were getting worried for the rabbit. Bete was looking for where Ais carries the paddle and being extremely quiet. Finn could not even come up with a chuckle.

Seeing Ais' face turned green and eyes moist, the most observant and calm Riveria "Bell, is that acid that attacked your clothes?", surprising everyone with the cool astute observation.

Worried Bell "Yes, we fell in a pit that was actually a monster's tummy and its acid ate away at our clothes and burned our skin.", those words comforted Ais and mini-Ais a lot. But she was still SO INCREDIBLY JEALOUS!

As the blonde girl walked closer to Bell to inspect him and his clothes, even the normally-cool Bell got uncomfortable with her close and intimate inspection when there were so many holes in his underwear. With her focus on figuring out what happened and her airhead nature, Ais started sniffing for acid smells which made things much more difficult for Bell. The closeness of the girl made the boy really excited until he could not take it any more.

Shocked tomato red Bell "Ais what are you doing?" as he jumped back from his airhead girlfriend while covering up the degree of excitement with his hands.

This public intimacy between the two was making everyone very uncomfortable. Riveria covered her eyes while Finn and even the amazons turned away. Incredibly even Bete had to turn his face away though he was dying laughing inside. The public display also got Lefiya really really angry again wondering what they have actually done in private...

Needing to change the topic, Finn "What happened to the monster? We saw multiple rounds of magic strikes"

Suddenly remembering the two unconscious masked attacker, this provided the excuse for Bell to escape Ais' detailed inspection. He quickly ran to check on them with everyone soon following him. As they got close to the two unconscious masked men, several daggers flew towards them, but were intercepted by Finn's quick action.

As everyone looked towards the direction from which those daggers were thrown, they saw Ein speeding away from sight. While Finn and Bete gave chase, they were not able to find Ein.

At the same time, Tiona and Tione checked on the 2 masked men, and they were barely still alive. Eager to question them, Riveria poured a couple potions on them. The search of the 2 yielded some kaenseki, bottles of oil and a strange clear sphere with what looked like an eye in the middle.

Riveria looked with dread "Evilus"

Tiona "Is that a jewel fetus"

Riveria "No I dont think so"

Ais "I dont feel anything strange either" finally focusing the issue at hand.

Tione "Other than it is creepy looking like a huge eyeball"

Riveria "The kaenseki can be made to explode, and the oil as can also be used as a weapon. We should ask Asfi about this strange sphere"

By the time Finn and Bete returned, they had searched the surrounding area. Strangely the pit where Leifya and Bell were trapped no longer had any signs of acid or monster.

Lefiya sweated "I swear, it was here"

Riveria calming her "Lefiya, I believe you"

Finn "Are there any magic stones remaining?"

Bell "There should be one in the pit and at least 10 or so around where you found us"

With all of them searching, they soon found several of the magic stones with the unusual color including one in the pit. That made Ais even more calm though she still had green eyes instead of gold ones. Even though it was all innocent, there is no telling what the clumsy elf and the clumsy boy could have done by mistake, which was made her incredibly jealous.

Having confirmed what happened, they took a quick survey of the area but found nothing else. None of the new type of monsters, and no other signs of Evilus were found.

Then they had to address the matter of modesty. Riveria gave Lefiya her jacket, which did a great job of covering all the important parts. But no one had any extra clothing for Bell, so there was no choice but for him to walk back to camp in his underwear with lots of holes in it. Using some big leaves would have covered up some of the skin, but that would make it stand out even more.

So they finally returned to camp carrying the 2 unconscious prisoners.

\- Back in Camp -

After returning to camp, there were things to do before returning to Orario.

But before anything could be done, many girls in camp whistled at Bell, particularly the ones who were seen naked bathing.

Tsubaki walked up to Bell "Rabbit is ready for some loving" licking her lips.

Anakitty was giggling while checking out the rabbit.

Even Alicia was checking out the rabbit...

Someone else "How adorable, an almost naked rabbit with pure white hair"

As many cute junior female members from the Loki familia and Hephaestus surrounded the rabbit, the executives were speechless. Ais, on the other hand, was reaching critical mass. Detonation was imminent. And when someone petted the white hair of the defenseless bunny, that was the last straw.

Activating ariel, eyes blazing white hot with lightning seeming to be leaking out, Ais proclaimed "Anyone that touched my bunny gets this", takes out her large paddle of divine punishment. When the girls saw Ais in detonation mode, they screamed in horror and ran for their lives. However, ariel was too fast and the punishment was on. At the end, a large pile of female adventurers laid defeated in the middle of camp, while the executives were also too frightened to say anything. Bete did not even stay around to watch the carnage and hid in his tent. Riveria had a huge headache, while Finn and Gareth went to the command tent to discuss strategy...

The slaughter of course attracted the attention of the Ishtar members, and they lusted after the pure white rabbit in his revealing attire. However, they were definitely not going to approach the rabbit with the Loki executives around. Though their large frog-like captain still seemed hungry even after the Hermes appetizer...

After the slaughter, Bell got some clothes and gave Ais a lap pillow in the girls' tent as Tiona and Tione watched on. Even Lefiya did not object with the lap pillow as everyone was scared. As the lap pillow progressed, the green eyes returned to the normal golden hue. The sneaky rabbit made the right move, as Ais' jealous flames were being calmed by the pureness for the head petting.

With calm returning, Riveria went to Asfi to ask about the strange spherical item.

Asfi "I have never seen anything like it"

Riveria "Asfi, please try to figure out what this is. We do not believe it is a jewel fetus but it seems like an important item. We will start interrogating the prisoners soon so please tell us anything you can figure out before we start"

Asfi "I will do my best and I would like to involved in the investigation"

A short while later, the two prisoners finally woke up, and so it was time for the interrogation. Normally, they would have had to wait till returning to Orario because a god was needed for detecting lies. However, they had two in the dungeon though Hermes was 'not available' after the special service from the captain of the Ishtar familia. At that time, Asfi came into the interrogation area, and told Riveria, Finn and Hestia her findings... Afterwards, Finn, Riveria and Asfi sat down for the interrogation as Hestia sat on the side to monitor the session.

Finn "So you are trainers that sent monsters to attack our party"

Prisoner 1 "Yes so what"

Riveria "Well we can do this the easy way or the hard way. We do not take kindly to people attacking our friends"

Prisoner 2 "We live and die for our god"

Asfi "You think you can die so easily. Notice that you are restrained so you cannot kill yourself even if you want to"

Finn "So you can choose. Cooperate and only be imprisoned. Alternative, you can make this difficult and suffer from a fate worse than death" giving the 2 prisoners pause for concern.

The two prisoners stopped talking so they realized that encouragement was needed. Asfi then brought in 2 devices with many feathers on it. As she pushed a button, the mechanism holding the feathers started moving and tickling the prisoners. Initially it was simple laughing, but after a while it was painfully laughing, after a few minutes, they were begging for it to stop.

Asfi "This is no ordinary tickling machine. We are using cursed feathers that overwhelms your senses and defenses."

Hestia thought "Cursed feathers?! What will Asfi think of next?"

Finn "I presume you will answer honestly now, or the machine starts again."

Finn "Are you part of Evilus"

Prisoner 2 "No"

Hestia "Lie"

Finn "Asfi, please start the machine again" which Asfi did. After 20 minutes of cursed tickling, they came back into the interrogation area to see the 2 prisoners crying from the tickle torture. They then started questioning again.

Finn "Each time you lie, the tickle torture gets worst. As you see, you cannot get away with lying" as the 2 prisoners started fearing for their fate.

Riveria holding the strange sphere "What is this item?"

Prisoner 1 "It is a magic item"

Riveria "What does this magic item do?"

Prisoner 2 "It identifies the holder as a friend"

Finn "What is used to determine this magic item is real"

Prisoner 1 "A magic sensor"

Riveria "Where is the magic sensor or sensors" but the two prisoners refused to answer.

After 2 minutes of waiting, they left the tickle mechanisms on and went away for an hour. When they came back, the two still refused to talk. So they went away for another hour. While they were waiting, the level 3 left in charge of monitoring the prisoners came running to them saying the prisoners were dying.

As they ran back inside, the prisoners were already dead

Upset Asfi "How?"

Riveria "I dont know, but may be they are so indoctrinated that their bodies rather die than give up the critical information"

Finn "This seems to confirm that identification sphere is very important to Evilus"

Riveria "Asfi, could you look further into this after we return to the surface?"

Asfi "Yes I will do that"

Finn "It is time to return to the surface or we will get home too late"

Riveria "Yes, we shall go"

Asfi while princess carrying the defeated Hermes "I am ready"

Thus the large group headed up towards the surface. The first order of business was the goliath which should have respawned. With everyone wanting Bell to gain more excelia, they decided to allow Bell and Bete to fight the goliath together. Ais and mini-Ais were very sad, but she understood that they wanted Bell to get some experience fighting a live target with other executives. But she had concerns of Bell looking up to Bete, which would be very painful to see.

The battle went much like with Ais. Except having reaching level 3, Bell only charged for 2 minutes instead of the 3 minutes as he did the first time. Apparently, it was the right decision, as it was more than sufficient to take out the monster, leaving behind its magic stone again. Hestia watched the battle and was amazed to see argonaut in real action. She then gave Bell a quick update after the action. Since the goliath was reduced to a magic stone, the remaining portion of the trip was boring, as there were literally no monster contacts...

There was a reasonable bump from additional sparring, the Venenthes, the violas and the goliath.

Level 3

Strength: 172

Endurance: 298

Agility: 211

Dexterity: 157

Magic: 483

Magic - firebolt

Skill - Liaris Freese (hidden), Argonaut

Development ability - luck, abnormal resistance

After reaching the Babel, the Loki members needed to return home to see Loki. After a hug and kiss with Ais, Bell and Hestia also returned to their home. Asfi, still princess carrying the helpless Hermes, also headed back to their home while promising Riveria that she will research the identification sphere.

After being involved in an all-out war and being a critical part of the victory, it was really good to be home. And Bell and Hestia were invited by Finn to a celebration at the Hostess tomorrow night. And tomorrow was going to be busy as Bell will be trying to recruit Lili as well as the smith he had a contract with. But in the meantime, it was time to get a long bath and much needed rest.

As they were ready for bed, someone knocked on the door. Bell went to get the door, and it was **Ais in her pajamas** with a very serious look on her face and holding something behind her back...


	15. Chapter 15

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

Marshall Cross Marian - I see you just love Bete. Paddle power!

SkellZero - Thanks glad you like it

luhfismk7 - Purity is in the eye of the beholder lol

Juan Diego Cornejo - Mini is the true boss

\- At the Hermes Home -

Asfi princess carried Hermes all the way back to their home. As other members saw the scene, they asked what was going on.

Member 1 "What happened to Hermes sama?"

Asfi "He peeped and was punished by me, the Loki familia and the Hephaestus familia."

Member 2 "That figures, but to imagine crossing the Loki familia. Guess that is why this punishment looks pretty severe. How did you do it?"

Asfi "I did not do it. We hired a service"

Member 1 "How did he end up in such a state. He looked like he had his life sucked out of him"

Asfi "It was the captain of the Ishtar familia" making everyone quiet.

That concept scared all the members but looks like they will at least get a couple days of peace out of it.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Despite their late return from the dungeon, Loki wanted to have a discussion about the demi spirits and jewel fetuses. However they could not find Ais anywhere. After some checking, someone said she went outside, but another said she saw her in her pajamas. That got everyone quite puzzled about what happened.

Unable to find Ais, they continued to have their discussion about what was learned in the dungeon. The demi spirit, the jewel fetus, the parasitization, those they already knew. But then with the violas at the monsterphilla, those were probably not taken to the surface by the Ganeshna familia. So given the way the regular dungeon entrance is monitored, it probably meant there is an alternative entrance to the dungeon. So the Loki executives need to figure out where and shut it down. If the jewel fetuses are transported to the surface, they would be far more dangerous if powerful monsters were also transported to the surface. A second entrance could thus enable some type of simultaneous attack with multiple demi spirits, leading to a probable end of the world.

The question is where the second entrance is. So they would need to search the city with Daedalius area being one suspect. Also need to search for a possible water entrance by the sea and in the sewers.

Then Riveria also brought up the strange identification sphere and how those 2 Evilus members guarded the secret with their lives. They could not figure out how and why the identification sphere is so important. So they agreed to wait for Asfi's investigation on the sphere.

\- At the Hestia Home -

At the same time when Bell and Hestia were ready for catching up on their sleep, Ais showed up at the front door in her pajamas! Bell immediately noticed that Ais had a very serious look on her face and was holding something behind her back.

Worried Bell "Ais, are you alright?"

Upset Ais in a daze "No"

Really worried Bell "Ais, what is wrong?"

Upset Ais "I cannot sleep and it is all your fault!" showing the frustration that had been bothering the girl all night.

Serious Bell "Ais, I am sorry, what is going on?"

Very upset Ais and mini-Ais "When I got in bed, all I can think about is you and Lefiya with no clothes on. And then all the girls petting your hair. It is a living nightmare! I cannot sleep at all and all I did was twist and turn, twist and turn, twist and turn"

Bell "..."

EMO Ais and mini-Ais "It is all your fault! You need to be spanked!" taking out a mini paddle for the occasion as mini-Ais wa up in arms.

Bell "..." noticing possibly the first time ever, that the sword princess was not carrying her sword!

Hestia heard the entire discussion and was speechless. Deciding to stay out of lover's quarrel, she just went on her bed and did not get involved.

Ais then went inside and looked around for a place to perform said spanking, with Bell obediently following her ready for his punishment. Ais was really surprised about how small the place was.

Ais thought "There was only a bed and a couch. Does Bell sleep in the same bed as Hestia?" further giving her horrible visions of rabbit love. Mini-Ais was completely in fetal position.

Bell noticed that Ais went all quiet and was not moving at all. In addition, steam appeared to be coming out of her ears. Something was very wrong with his girlfriend!

Bell "Ais, are you alright?"

Freaked out Ais "Bell, do you sleep with your goddess?"

Bell "What do you mean? We sleep in the same room?"

Seeing the problem, Bell "But I sleep on the couch because we are too poor", alleviating the biggest worry in Ais' mind.

Back on track, Ais took Bell's hand and brought him to the couch. She then sat down and put him over her knees. Then she did the deed with the small paddle.

Ais - spank - "This one is for seeing Tiona naked, bad bunny" though the spank was not that hard.

Ais - spank - "This one is for seeing Tione naked, bad bunny" again same strength.

Ais - spank - "This one is for seeing Tsubaki naked, bad bunny" again same strength.

Ais - spank - "This one is for seeing Lefiya almost naked, bad bunny" again same strength.

Ais - spank spank spank spank spank - "These five are for seeing all the other girls naked, bad bad bunny" , all the same strength again.

Ais - spank - "This one is for princess carrying Lefiya. Bad bunny. Done!", again same strength.

Ais pouted at super strength "Now you need to be a good bunny from now on and dont make me angry and lose sleep" then allowing Bell to get up.

Since Ais did not spank that hard, it did not really hurt. It only sting a bit and in fact, it was kind of stimulating. When Bell got up, he was feeling pretty good.

Naughty Bell "Ais, you can spank me any time. It felt really good."

Surprised Ais "You are getting like Loki! Bad bunny!" getting the paddle back out.

Naughty Bell "Bad bunny needs to have some fun now", taking the initiative to put Ais on his lap and did some spanking with his bare hands. Ais was surprised by Bell's attack but it appeared to be reducing stress. Mini-Ais also was surprised by the new sensation but was too embarrassed to comment.

Throughout the punishment sequence, Hestia used the pillow to cover her head while pretending to be sleeping on the bed. However the close proximity forced her to hear and process all the dirty details. She could not make a sound, but just pretend she was not listening or fell asleep. The small size of their home has made this type of situation quite difficult to bear. How could the two of them be doing such things in front of his goddess? Do they feel no embarrassment? On one hand, she was ready to tell the two to get a room, may be a hotel room. On the other hand, she was incredibly jealous. So she just had to keep pretending to be out cold. Life is just not fair...

Meanwhile, the reduced stress was having a substantial calming effect on Ais, and the spanking actually helped a great deal. As she yawned, Bell knew it was time to take her home. Without her weapon, he certainly was not going to allow her to walk home alone. Being the good boyfriend, Bell princess carried Ais all the way back to the Twilight Manor.

People on streets were staring as Ais is one of the most recognizable people in all of Orario.

One shocked towns person "Wow, the sword princess has been taken"

Another towns person rolled his eyes "And she is in her pajamas, these people have no shame!"

Third towns person who was envious "Lucky guy"

Fourth towns person "Someone is getting some tonight. Lucky guy"

Sarcastic fifth towns person "Who are you kidding. Someone already got some. Lucky bunny"

As people whispered, Bell and Ais really did not care. Ais simply enjoyed the ride to her home, and Bell enjoyed giving her the ride. Some time later, they were at the gate for the Twilight Manor. Seeing Ais in pajamas being carried by the white rabbit, they did not know what to say but just waved them inside.

As Ais was carried into the building, there were more whispers. Soon they did run into somebody they know, and it was Tiona.

Tiona "Ais, argonaut-kun, what is going on? And Ais in her pajamas! Bunny must have been really bad! Bad bunny! Bad bunny!"

Hearing Tiona's excited voice, Tione came by and saw the same scene "Bell and Ais, what have you two been doing? Not hiding those bedroom activities any more, I see"

Bell handled it quite well and was not embarrassed at all. Ais and mini-Ais also did not seem to care, but just wanted her bunny to princess carry her all the way to her room. And she wanted to be tucked in by the bunny himself.

Soon Riveria came by after hearing the news and was totally speechless, as she was afraid to ask what happened. At the same time, Finn, Gareth and Bete, with tail between legs, were too scared and so stayed in their rooms with their doors bolted and lights off.

Then it was Lefiya's turn. Seeing Ais in a suggestive pajamas carried around by Bell was just too much. Nose bled, eyes rolled around and streamed escaped at high rate. Lefiya soon fainted and had to be carried back to her room by Tiona.

Finally, Loki heard about the situation and came to check for herself. Seeing the princess in pajamas in the rabbit's carry, her heart was completely broken into a million pieces inside.

Surrendering Loki "Bell bunny, are you going to take responsibility?" with her voice clearly shaken.

Confident Bell "Yes Lady Loki"

Fighting back tears, despondent Loki "You better take full responsibility, whatever you have done"

Confident Bell "Yes Lady Loki" which set the goddess at ease some what.

As Ais wanted to be carried to her room, Bell obeyed while the entire entourage followed with Riveria and Tione arguing about wedding dates. To their utter shock, after Bell took Ais into her room, Ais slammed the door shut and latched the door!


	16. Chapter 16

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

As Bell princess carried Ais to her room, Ais slammed the door shut and latched the door behind her. The shocked entourage of Loki executives were left speechless. What is going to happen?!

Already defeated, Loki just sat down on the floor. The trickster goddess was completely speechless with tears running down in 2 large streams. The amazon twins were equally speechless, as difficult as it was to believe. Riveria had a huge headache, and thank Loki that Lefiya was already unconscious in her room. But they could not get themselves to leave the area around the door, so they just sat on the floor looking at each other in shock.

\- An Hour Later -

A smiling Bell quietly opened the door and turned off the light. As he walked outside, the executives were still there completely defeated and in a daze. As Bell quietly closed the door, Bell tried to walk around them, but the rabbit was immediately pounced upon and captured. With the paddle-master unaware inside, the bunny was tied up, gagged and then carried away by the executives...

\- In a Meeting Room in a Remote Portion of the Twilight Manor -

Bell was untied and un-gagged, but was surrounded by Loki, Riveria, Tiona and Tione. The girls had scary looks on their faces which made even Bell shake in fear.

Determined Loki "Ok, rabbit, spill it, what happened in there?"

However, Bell kept his cool "Ais had trouble sleeping so she went to my home. After she relieved her stress, she was sleepy. Since she forgot her sword, I went back with her. She wanted to be carried, so I carried her. Inside the room, Ais wanted to be tucked in. So I tucked her in, hugged her until she fell asleep. Then I came out and saw you"

Surprised Loki "That is all?"

Cool Bell smirked "You would know if I was lying"

Riveria started chuckling "Cheeky rabbit, so this was much about nothing?"

Inquisitive Loki "So what happened at your home? How was the stress relieved"

Cool Bell "She spanked me 10 times and I spanked her a few times"

Tiona "Argonaut was spanked?", making all the executives happy that even the rabbit was equally spanked by the paddle.

Tione "Did she used a paddle?"

Bell "She was a smaller paddle"

Tiona "Did you use a paddle?"

Bell "No", drawing a few gasps while stabbing Loki in the heart.

Tiona "Was it good?"

Bell "Very", as jealous Loki had a flying nose bleed.

Riveria "How hard was the spanking? Did it make a loud sound like it did with us?"

Bell "I dont think she spanked me as hard. Not a loud sound"

Upset Tiona "No fair. Argonaut gets love taps but we get walloped!"

Upset Loki "That is totally unfair"

Upset Tione "Rabbit gets special treatment while the familia members get bashed"

Riveria "Even I cannot defend Ais or the rabbit here."

Cool Bell smirked "I am sorry, but perhaps Ais has good taste lol lol lol"

That was it as the Loki executives jumped on Bell and beat him up. It was a painful lesson, but the pile of womanhood unloaded pretty heavily on him while his bodyguard was sleeping in her room. Any how, after Bell was punished, he was allowed to leave but warned that retribution would be swift if Ais learns about his punishment. With a nervous laugh, Bell left and ran home now convinced that the Loki executives are really crazy ...

\- The Next Morning -

As Hestia went to work, Bell just woke up.

Hestia "I am leaving", waving bye but remembering how late the rabbit returned home last night.

Bell "Bye goddess" and he quickly washed up to meet with Lili and the smith he contracted with.

\- Outside the Babel -

Bell saw Lili, and he was glad to see her. They have not adventured together since the minotaur.

Happy Lili "Bell sama, you are the big news! Recorder holder for level 2 after 3 weeks, and then recorder holder for level 3 after 2 weeks. You are really famous! People are going crazy about you"

Bell "Well, I had a lot of help from Ais and her familia."

Lili "And they said you had a big role on the 59th floor"

Bell "Well it was a huge fight, and everyone had a big role."

Lili "Bell sama, you are just being modest. It is insane that you made level 3 and then contributed as a level 3!"

At that time, a tall red head guy "Bell, sorry I am late"

Bell "Welf, how are you", shaking his hand and introducing Lili and Welf to each other.

Bell to both "The goddess and I want to recruit you, but we know you already have familias. But how about we party together to the dungeon and see how we fight together?"

Lili "I would love to join your familia, but it will be expensive to get out of my familia"

Welf "Well, I am in love with my goddess, but I dont get along with others in my familia. So I will definitely consider it"

Bell "Well, how about we go in the dungeon now?", as both Lili and Welf agreed to try it as a party.

So the 3 went down to the dungeon together. With Bell being a very very strong level 3, they had no trouble at all. After a couple hours, they collected a lot of magic stones, killed a lot of orcs and reached the mid levels. As they battled hell hounds and Bell's numerous cousins, they heard a group approaching them. It was actually members belonging to the familia led by Takemikazuchi, a close friend of Hestia. Take's members were running really fast as if they were running for their lives.

Lili "Looks bad. I think this may be a pass parade."

Welf "Lets not get pass parade, lets run ourselves"

Seeing that one member of the Take familia was injured, Bell "Go give the injured person a potion" surprising Lili and Welf.

Bell then activated Talaria from Hermes and hovered high above the ground. As the monsters arrived, he shot close to ten firebolts towards the monsters to take out a large number and scattered the rest.

Welf yelled "Wait, we got some potions for you", surprising the Take familia members who turned and saw that Welf has a potion for them.

Seeing the help for their injured member and Bell's shocking tactic with the pass parade, the Take members stopped and waited for Welf's help. As potion was poured on a short girl, they heard a huge explosion set off by Bell's magic.

Welf looked over at Bell "OMG, he must just have blown up a hundred monsters with whatever magic he used"

Lili "That is Bell sama for you. Bell sama is much stronger than what Lili remembers"

Seeing that the tide has turned, Lili and Welf went to Bell's side to assist. The Take members watched as the 3 fought.

Girl with black hair "That is Bell Cranel the record holder. He is amazing. I am going to help them fight. I never wanted to do the pass parade in the first place"

Large guy with black hair "Chigusa, are you feeling better?"

Chigusa "Ouka, much better. Lets go help Mikoto and the others."

Ouka "Alright lets go"

Thus the 6 adventurers worked together to take down the remaining monsters. With Bell's power, they were not in real danger. But the help allowed Bell to save himself from using a lot of magic. After the battle, Mikoto did a long dogeza to apologize for the pass parade, but Ouka said it was his responsibility and he would do it again if it meant saving his members. While Welf and Lili got mad and argued with Ouka, Bell went and made peace between them. The 6 adventurers then agreed to go back up to the surface together. The Take members agreed to pay for dinner at a small pub Hibachitei because Bell's party saved them. Over dinner, Bell managed to get Welf, Lili and Ouka to mostly bury the hatchet...

When they were done with dinner, an annoying pallum starting talking trash about the Hestia familia. Bell did not react until the pallum from the Apollo familia started insulting Hestia being a virgin goddess who is really a slut with fake boobs. Bell lost it at that point and bashed the pallum. At that point, an all-out brawl broke out between Bell's table and several Apollo members. Bell's side was winning until a tall powerful fighter knocked Welf out and then started beating on Ouka. At that point, it was a fight between that fighter and Bell. But as a level 3 fighting like an advanced level 4, Bell quickly defeated the fighter, who was furious with his defeat.

As Bell carried Welf away, Bete continued to eat at a corner of the pub. And he heard the Apollo members talk about how Apollo is not going to be pleased with their failed recruitment effort.

When Bell got home, Hestia was in her pajamas, but there was another girl in pajamas at his home with golden hair and golden eyes.

Bell "Goddess, Ais, what is going on"

Hestia "Well, Ais came to see you because she could not sleep well"

Bell "What happened?"

Ais and mini-Ais "I have not had time to train, but I need to be tucked in every night!"

So Bell gave the princess another carry back to her home while Hestia mopped around at home. Along the way, there were again more whispers about young people these days have no shame...

\- At the Twilight Manor -

The guards at the gate saw the two and just waved them in. Inside, the junior members also made way for the two to pass, as everyone is now aware of the almighty paddle. They did run into the twins and Lefiya, and the sight of Ais in pajamas on Bell's arms almost caused Lefiya to faint again. However like moths to a flame, they followed the pair up to Ais' room. After Ais again slammed and latched the door behind her, Lefiya was becoming apoplectic with rage thinking about what was happening behind the closed door. Horrible unspeakable acts of lewdness were going through her mind, forcing her soul to leave her body and watch from above... However, like the night before, Bell came out after about an hour or so with a silly smile on his face. The 3 girls then dragged Bell away and forced him to confess all about what happened.

Lucky for Bell, Finn interrupted the interrogation as he had to talk to Bell about business.

Finn "Bell, based on what happened at the monsterphilia and other evidence, we believe there is a second entrance where Evilus may be trying to smuggle powerful monsters like the demi spirits to the surface."

Bell "Wow"

Finn "If they are able to perform such a simultaneous attack with several of those, we may well lose and Orario could be lost. So we are trying to find the second entrance"

Finn continued "The girls and Loki are going to search for a waterway entrance at Melen and the coast, while the rest of my familia will be searching the city and the sewers. In a week or so, we hope to raid the 2nd entrance. Your cannon may be helpful at that time."

Bell "I understand and will definitely help in any way I can. My party may do some short dungeon dives, but plan to be home every night"

Finn smirked "So starting tomorrow, the princess will have to do without any rabbit love for a while", which actually managed to cause a slight blush on Bell...

\- Back at the Hestia Home -

Bell returned and saw Hestia waiting up for him.

Hestia "You spent a long time there"

Bell "I tucked Ais in but then Finn wanted to talk about another dungeon raid in a week or two"

Bell then proceeded to update Hestia on the situation with the potential second entrance. Hestia then did a status update on Bell.

Hestia slightly puzzled "This is less progress than normal"

Bell "Well, we did not go very deep in the dungeon before turning back"

Hestia "If you want to grow fast, you will need to probably go on trips with top adventurers like Loki's children, as much as I dread to say it"

Bell "Yes, but the Loki familia is searching for the second entrance in 2 separate locations for this week. So they will not be going into the dungeon during this time. I also want to recruit adventurers but they are level 1. So we cannot go very deep"

Hestia "Well, this is still super fast progress for normal people"...

\- The Next Day -

It was another day of dungeon diving with Lili and Welf, though the Take members also joined them with safety in numbers.

The group of 6 was able to make it to the 18th floor relatively unscathed for lunch. They then headed back up to the city, but the trip up was more eventful than the way down. A large number of minotaurs attacked them unexpectedly, and it took Bell on Talaria to swipe away Welf and Mikoto from the cutting edge of minotaurs' axes. And then two 30 second charge firebolts to dispose of the minos. And after that, a separate group pass paraded them and Bell again used his cannon to clear up the large mass of monsters. They did collect a large number of magic stones, so Bell wanted go for a nice dinner at the Hostess with the entire party and Hestia.

When they exchanged the magic stones for valis at the guild, Eina handed Bell an envelope and told him it was an invitation. Bell was surprised that inside the envelope for an invitation for a ball being held by Apollo.

Eina "Apollo likes to show off and is a bit eccentric, but all familias have been invited. That includes Loki who will probably be bringing Ais - wink wink" but Bell refused to acknowledge the wink wink.

With no reaction, Eina "And Bell-kun, there is a lot of rumors of a certain rabbit carrying an angel with golden hair away every night on the streets. Is there any truth to that?"

Bell smirked "Well, you know how rumors get out of control", earning yet another smirk from Eina. Eina's heart seemed to skip a beat with each clever reply ...

\- At the Hostess -

The idea of going to a ball with Ais was very attractive to Bell, but his party members gave each other suspicious looks. Over dinner, they brought up their concerns to Bell.

Lili "I dont like it. It is the same familia that attacked us at the pub after insulting Lady Hestia."

Hestia "What happened", which led to Bell recounting the incidences over the dinner where the Apollo pallum member said horrible things about Hestia, how they had a fight, but that they won...

Hestia "Bell, do not fight on behalf of my name again. I do not care about things like that. Bad things happen when familias fight"

Lili "I dont like it. It sounds like a trap."

Hestia "If all the familias have been invited then we have to go. But I dont like it either"

Bell "Ais is not in Orario this few days, but I will go ask her captain about the ball"

Hestia smirked "Gee Bell-kun, you are sure close with Loki's children. Are you going to leave me soon sniff sniff wink wink"

Bell managed to stay calm and teased back "How can I possibly think of leaving the most beautiful goddess in Orario?" That attack hit its mark as Hestia turned red and steam came out of her ears...

\- A few Days Later -

The Loki familia was back in town after investigating Melen and a victory over the Bali familia. However, they did not find the second entrance and a search around the city and the sewers also yielded nothing.

At that time though, the talk of the entire city was about the Apollo Ball to be held the next evening. Loki took Ais shopping as she wanted both of them to look great in the ball. They did run into Hermes and Asfi who were also shopping for the ball.

Loki smiled "Hermes, how are you?"

Hermes "Doing well"

Loki smirked "Really, that is good to hear. I heard you had quite an adventure"

Hermes smiled "Well, and it was glorious on the 59th floor"

Loki smirked some more "I heard you like frogs"

Hermes smiled "Frog's legs are delicious"

Loki looking deadly serious "You try that again, and I will make sure you have frog's legs every day for the next 20 years "

Asfi then hit Hermes on the head hard, and then said her greetings and good byes to Loki and Ais"

\- That Evening at the Hestia Home -

Bell got home late after a long day in the dungeon with Lili, Welf and the Take members. They were able to get down to the 20th floor even though Bell still obviously had to do the heavy lifting.

That night Bell's status update showed continued amazing though slower-than-before progress:

Level 3

Strength: 383

Endurance: 568

Agility: 450

Dexterity: 356

Magic: 793

Magic - firebolt

Skill - Liaris Freese (hidden), Argonaut

Development ability - luck, abnormal resistance

\- The Next Evening at the Apollo Mansion -

The Grand Ball was starting soon and all the gods, goddesses and their favorites were showing up at the big event. When Bell and Hestia arrived with Take & Mikoto and Miach & Naaza, Ais was already there along with Loki.

Ais "Good evening Bell and Lady Hestia"

Bell "Good evening Ais and Lady Loki"

Ais looked at the dance floor with so many couples dancing "Bell, will you teach me how to dance" pulling at Bell's sleeves.

Embarrassed Bell "Ais I dont know how!" making Ais pout.

Hestia happily jumped in "Bell-kun, dance with me so I can teach you. Then you can teach Ais!"

Hestia smiled thinking "At least I can Bell's first dance!"

At that time, Hermes jumped in "Bell-kun, it is easier to learn by watching a couple dance next to you. Just get Ais and follow what Hestia and I do", grabbing Hestia's hands.

Hestia was stuck as she could not deny her child's dance lesson and was forced to dance along with Hermes.

Hestia whisper softly "Hermes, you scoundrel"

Hermes "Lets play nice. Lets teach them how to dance. But everything feels just like in the bath. How exhilarating" making Hestia want to knee him where it hurts, but instead Hermes pressed her hard against him for a dramatic slow dance.

Hestia threatened Hermes "I am going to hire Phyrne again" but Hermes instead went cheek to cheek with her...

Following the example, Bell and Ais did the same expressive slow dance that made others envious. Particularly annoyed was the most incredibly gorgeous goddess of beauty who attracted a large number of male gods. Watching the slow dance, she asked Ottar to bring in a large herd of minotaurs though Ottar indicated that it was impossible.

Bell and Ais enjoyed their first dance a lot. So much that they kept dancing and dancing many times. That was until Bell's tummy made a funny sound, which made Ais laugh.

Ais "Why didnt you say you were hungry"

Cool Bell "I am more hungry for you : )" making Ais blush again.

Ais "Playboy rabbit, lets get some food" as they walked hand in hand to the food tables.

As the two walked off the dancing area, there was an extremely beautiful tall lady with silver hair approaching them. As they got close, she looked and smiled at Bell.


	17. Chapter 17

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

Hestia saw Freya walking towards Bell and Ais, as did Loki.

Hestia thought "What is going on?" heads to them.

Loki "Looks like trouble" hurries to them.

As the playboy rabbit and Ais walked off the dancing area, they went hand in hand towards the food tables. But there was an extremely beautiful tall lady with silver hair approaching them. As they got close to her, she looked and smiled at Bell.

With the beautiful lady smiling at Bell, Bell smiled back and then kept going to the food area.

Ais "Bell, do you know that is Freya sama?"

Bell "No, never met her before" as they started to get some food. Bell was actually really hungry.

Freya just stood there after Bell and Ais walked by. She was shocked. Charm did not appear to work on the clear brilliant soul.

Seeing something was not right, Ottar came up to Freya.

Ottar "Is something wrong, my lady"

Silence.

Ottar "Is something wrong?"

Silence

Finally, shocked Freya "I could not charm the boy"

Ottar "That does not seem possible"

Freya "I can tell. He is so smitten with the sword princess that he did not know I exist"

Ottar "My lady, but you are the most beautiful in the world"

Freya "It does not seem so, at least in his eyes..."

Silence

Determined Freya "Now I want him even more. I must have him"...

At that point, Hestia and Loki went up to Bell and Ais.

Hestia "What happened with Freya?"

Bell "Goddess, I dont think anything."

Loki "Really? After approaching you, she is just standing there like a statue"

Loki "Ais, what did you see?"

Ais "Freya sama walked up pretty close to us. I think she smiled at Bell, who smiled back. Then we came here to get food"

Hestia "She tried to charm Bell?"

Bell "What?"

Loki "If she did, it did not work"

Hestia "How is that possible?"

Loki "I dont know. If she tried and failed, she would never give up. Her pride would not allow her. If she did not, then I dont know what she was doing. But it is very suspicious"

Hestia "Bell, you and Ais should stay close to Loki and I now. Sorry but you are getting babysitters"

Bell "Yes Goddess"

Loki "Freya's charm works typically when she smiles at someone. It is possible she smiled at you but was not trying to charm though. So it is hard to tell what happened."

As the talked the host then had an announcement. Apollo "Welcome everyone. I hope you are enjoying yourselves", as the audience clapped

Apollo then had a few more words"I want to give special thanks to all of you and your favorites for attending my event. Please enjoy the rest of the evening", as the audience clapped again.

After the cheering, Ais "Bell, I want to dance again" so Bell took Ais back to the dance area.

Loki and Hestia wanted to stay close so they had to dance together...

After a few dances, they took a break on a balcony. At that point, Apollo walked over to them.

Apollo "Loki and Hestia, what an unexpected gathering"

Hestia "What do you want Apollo"

Apollo "Actually I came here to collect your child's apology"

Hestia "What?"

Apollo calls over an injured pallum, all in bandages "See, this is what your child did to mine"

Hestia "He must have earned it"

Apollo "Is he going to apologize or not"

Bell "Your familia is a freak show just like you. So talk to someone else. I did not break any bones so this is a sham. Perhaps I should have though."

Apollo "What an insolent child"

Apollo "Are you going to order your child to apologize or not. This is your last warning"

Hestia "Go pound sand"

Apollo "I challenge you to a war game"

Hestia "No, go pound sand."

Annoyed Apollo "You will be sorry"

Bell "Dont waste time with this freak."

As Apollo walked away "Hestia you will be very sorry"

After Apollo walked away, Loki "Freak wants Bell"

Ais "Bell, lets send him back to heaven"

Hestia "Bell, Ais, do not try to kill a god. There would be serious repercussions."

Loki "Ais that is an order"

Ais "Understood. Bell, we need to start training again. How about 7 in the same place?"

Bell "That is great. I will have to let my party members know. I can tell Mikoto since she is here, but I will need to meet you at 9 tomorrow so I can find my other party members. "

Ais "That is fine. I will practice by myself before that"

At that point, Freya and Ottar walked over.

Freya "Hestia and Loki, how are you"

Hestia "Freya, what do you want"

Freya "I was curious what happened with our host"

Loki "The freak was being a freak. Not much to worry about"

Freya "Really, well who do we have here", looking at Bell and smiles at him again.

Bell bowed "I am Bell Cranel, pleased to meet you"

Freya smiled at Bell again "Well if you are not cute like a rabbit"

Bell smiled back "Thanks goddess"

Freya smiled at Bell again "Are you the famous record holder? And so cute" smiled again.

Bell smiled back "Well I just try really hard"

Freya smiled again "You can call me Freya" and smiled again.

Bell smiled back "Thank you goddess Freya"

Freya "What a formal boy! And pinched Bell's cheeks" and smiled again but looking a little frustrated. That made Ais and mini-Ais furious but Loki grabbed her hand to let her know she needed to control herself.

Bell smiled again "Goddess, you look a little trouble. Is everything alright"

Freya smiled "It is nothing for a cute bunny to worry about", patted Bell on the head and smiled again. The pet on the head really hurt Ais and mini-Ais though they just managed to control their temper.

Bell smiled back "Thank you goddess. It is a pleasure to meet you, but I promised my girlfriend another dance. So please excuse us and enjoy the rest of the evening"

Freya smiled again "Certainly, I am going to be watching you and waiting to see you do great things" and smiled again

Bell bowed "Thank you goddess, good night", then escorting Ais back to the dance area.

After Bell and Ais left, Hestia "Well Freya, it seems Bell has made a great impression on you."

Freya "Yes it appears so"

Loki "Yes, it seems you already made a wonderful impression on Bell being so amazingly friendly"

As the goddesses looked at each other carefully, no one gave an inch but the intentions were made apparent to each other.

Freya "Well, Loki and Hestia, enjoy your evening and I will be seeing you around"

After Freya left, Hestia and Loki looked at each other.

Loki "I could not believe how many times Freya tried to charm Bell, and even he noticed it and smiled back"

Proud Hestia "It seems Bell is immune"

Loki "Hard to believe, but your child is indeed quite unique"

Worried Hestia "Now I got Apollo and Freya to worry about. A freak and a pervert"

Loki "What Freya cannot get one way, she will get in another way. But the blow to her ego today must be mighty huge"

Hestia "Lol, she smiled so many times I thought her mouth might be stuck permanently in a smile"

Soon, Bell and Ais were done dancing and everyone wanted to go home"

\- The Next Morning -

Hestia and Bell were heading out the door with Hestia to work while Bell went to find Lili and Welf before going to meet Ais.

As they walked out the door, Bell noticed someone firing at them. Reacting quickly, he immediately pushed Hestia back into the abandoned church to take cover. They realized that they are under a full scale attack as many magic explosions were taking place outside.

Bell "I will get us out of here. So I am going to carry you again" which made Hestia quite pleased.

Bell then activated Talaria while started charging argonaut. He then princess carried Hestia and waited for 20 seconds of charging. With a 20 second charge, he opened the door a little and shot an argonaut firebolt at the ground that blew an enormous cloud so the attackers could not see what they were shooting at. By the time the dust settled, Bell and Hestia were already well up in the air, mostly out of range of enemy arrows and magic attacks.

Surveying the ground, they saw a large group of attackers seemingly from the Apollo familia.

Hestia "So Apollo is trying to take you by force, it seems"

Hestia "Bell, head to the guild. You can leave me there. The church is no longer safe"

Bell "Alright goddess"

By then, the explosions drew the attention of a lot of people in the city. The incident was reported to the guild. The Hostess maids also heard about it, so Ryuu and Syr went to check on Bell. Most of the familias were notified by their members that war has started between the Apollo familia and Hestia familia.

Observers, including Syr and Ryuu, saw Bell and Hestia flying away from the area.

Ryuu "Syr, Cranel-san appears to be heading the guild. They should be safe there. They are totally outnumbered with the large number of attackers from the Apollo familia"

By that time, Ais also came in ariel to check what was going on.

Ais "Bell, what happened"

Bell "Apollo familia members tried to ambush us. We are headed to the guild" So the three headed to the guild.

Ais "Apollo familia only has level 3 and below. I can help you obliterate them"

Suddenly a voice stopped Ais, and it was from her pallum captain.

Finn "Ais, you cannot unilaterally declare war on the Apollo familia."

Ais "I am not going to allow Bell to be ganged up on by a large familia" and mini-Ais was furious ready to destroy.

Finn "Familias cannot just start war like this. There are war games for things like this"

Ais "But they started it."

Hestia "Well Ais thank you, but your captain is correct."

Bell "Then why dont we have a war game with them?"

Sad Hestia "I have one member, and they have more than 100. They can use their numbers against you."

Ais "I can join your familia"

Hestia "Ais, thank you, but lets not do hasty things. Remember Freya, who is far more dangerous, is watching our every step. If we act too close, we do not know how she can twist the situation."

Finn "The goddess is correct. Loki can help more as an un-involved party than a close ally"

By that time, Ryuu (in her facemask disguise) and Syr arrived, as did Mikoto and Ouka, as well as Welf and Lili. After Hestia explained what happened, they were furious that their friend was being attacked and bullied.

Finn "Why dont you wait here. I will bring Loki here."

Welf "I will bring Hephaestus"

Ouka and Mikoto "We will bring Take sama and Miach sama"

Syr "Ryuu, I better go back to explain things to momma, you can stay here and help Bell"

As their friends went to call for help, Bell, Ais, Hestia, Lili and Ryuu stayed at the guild. A while later, Hermes and Asfi came to the guild to check on what was going on.

Hermes winked "Hestia, I need to talk to you in private"

Realizing that she needed all the help she could get, Hestia went along...


	18. Chapter 18

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Folkvangr -

Freya and Ottar were having a private conversation.

Frustrated Freya "I tried to charm him more times than I can remember, but it all failed."

Stoic Ottar "My lady, that is difficult to believe"

Excited Freya "But yet it is true. Oh how delicious my failure! I must have that clear brilliant soul!"

Stoic Ottar "My lady, it will be very difficult with the Loki familia's involvement."

Smiling Freya "Apollo has made his move. If Loki moves to assist, then we have an excuse to counter such an unfair situation"

Ottar "You want Apollo to claim the rabbit?"

Freya "We will get rid of that freak when it comes time."

\- At the Belit Babili -

Ishtar was foaming at the mouth thinking of getting revenge. She hated Freya so much, and now she may finally have her opportunity.

Ishtar "Tammuz, did you see how many times Freya tried to charm that rabbit? And she failed. She must be absolutely shocked and frustrated lol lol lol. I want you to bring him to me so I can use my charms. It would be the ultimate revenge when I claim the rabbit after I charm him."

Tammuz "It is a very dangerous situation. Freya is involved. Loki is involved. Even Apollo is involved."

Ishtar "We can easily crush Apollo that freak. What we need is to capture the rabbit in the dungeon. Spy on the rabbit and plan an ambush"

Tammuz "Yes goddess Ishtar"

\- At the Apollo Home -

Hyakinthos made an update to Apollo concerning the attack on Bell and Hestia.

Hyakinthos "Lord Apollo, they failed to catch the rabbit. Apparently the rabbit had wings that flew him away, and was able to escape to the guild"

Apollo lusting "A rabbit with wings, I must have him" drooling at the idea of owning and molesting the pure white boy with fluffy feathers.

Apollo "What happened to our alliance with the Soma familia"

Hyakinthos "They were assisting, but the rabbit used some type of diversion using his magic before flying away from their home"

Apollo "Put our people everywhere. They cannot hide at the guild all the time. I must have that fluffy rabbit."

\- At the Temporary Residence Townhouse -

Ouka and Mikoto advised Takemikazuchi of the attack, and they immediately went to find Miach, who brought Naaza with them to the guild.

\- At the Babel -

Welf was able to find Hephaestus in one of her stores. They then immediately headed to the guild along with Tsubaki.

\- At the Guild -

As their friends went to call for help, Bell, Ais, Hestia, Lili and Ryuu stayed at the guild. Hermes soon suggested having a talk with Hestia, so she went along realizing she needed all the help she could get.

In a private room, Hermes had his happy smile again.

Happy Hermes "It looks like I could be useful to you again."

Worried Hestia "How so?"

Confident Hermes "The way I see it. Loki may want to help you because of the sword princess, but her hands may be tied because it could draw Freya's involvement. You may try to stay with Take or Miach, but Apollo can easily overwhelm them. Even if Ganesha wants to help you, he needs to maintain neutrality. There is the Ishtar familia but lol lol lol you would not want the rabbit among a large group of barbelas."

Skeptical Hestia "Yes so what is your point"

Hermes putting on the finishing touch "Well, that does not leave you much choice. You can come under my protection because Freya cannot use my familia as an excuse for getting involved. It would buy you some time or a lot of time, but you will eventually have to agree to a war game with Apollo."

Worried Hestia "And what is the price"

Hermes "One hour bath a day. Each just like last time" as he plays with her hair.

Hestia trying to control her temper "You scoundrel!" knowing how much Hermes had raised the price.

Hermes moves to checkmate "Well you could try to run away from Orario and deny the boy the opportunity to get stronger in the dungeon"

Defeated Hestia "This stays confidential or you are really dead"

Hermes enjoying the moment "Hestia darling, that is the least you could do to make up for Phryne"

Hestia was speechless.

Smiling Hermes "Why so serious? I thought you had a good time last time being washed behind the ears lol lol lol" and flipped the furious Hestia's skirt...

When Hermes and Hestia returned to the rest of the group, Miach, Take, Hephaestaus and Loki had already arrived.

Together, they lodged a complaint to the guild about Apollo's behavior. Because of the complaint, Ganesha was brought in to handle the situation.

Ganesha "I am Ganesha" flexing his muscles.

Shakti interrupted her god "Lord Ganesha and I will bring Apollo here to resolve this situation. We will reconvene here tomorrow morning"

After Ganesha and Shakti left, Loki pulled Hestia for a private chat.

Loki "So you are staying with Hermes until this is resolved?"

Grumpy Hestia "Yes I am"

Smirking Loki "What did that cost?"

Dejected Hestia "More than I want to admit"

Victorious Loki "Dont worry, I will not tell Bell since you will no longer give me crap about my boobs" as everyone piled on Hestia.

Defeated Hestia "You win"

Meanwhile, Ais and Bell were talking together about what to do.

Ais "With all this going on, you better train hard"

Bell "I will. Lets start after the goddess is settled down at the Hermes home"

Ais "Good lets meet for lunch."

Bell "That sounds good. Thanks Ais"

Ais gives the boy a kiss "Dont worry, it will work out fine"

\- At the Traveler's Inn -

After gathering their belongings from their destroyed home, Bell and Hestia followed Hermes and Asfi to the Hermes home. As requested, their new rooms are adjoining.

After settling in, Bell headed to meet Ais. Hestia however had to stay at the Hermes home because of concerns over Apollo's potential treachery. Hestia did have one instruction for Bell, which meant that he could train with Ais but he should not do any dungeon diving until this mess was over.

\- At the Potato Puff Stand -

Ais was already there when Bell arrived. They had a nice lunch together while walking around the central park. Everyone knew who they were, but no one said much to them. The news of the attack on the boy's home was known to probably every Orario citizen.

After lunch, they started training. Bell was again much stronger than the last time they sparred after the 59th floor. Bell now was fighting more like an early level 5 without using argonaut. The gap between the two was no longer huge and there were no easy lap pillows to be had. She got more wins, but he had a fair share of wins also.

Ais pouted "This is not fair, you have almost caught up to me, and it has only been 6 weeks. It took me many years! Bunny is not fair!"

Bell smiled "Ais, I want to be worthy to stand by your side"

Ais "That is silly. Everyone already told you that you are worthy. You already saved us on the 59th floor, and led the counterattack."

Bell smirked and winked "But I want to be able to push you down with my own strength" shocking Ais with his suggestion.

Blushing Ais regathered her composure "Naughty bunny now wants to be stronger than me, but you better back your words up when you are strong enough", putting extra pressure on the confident Bell.

After their flirting, they went back to training though a set of eyes were constantly stared on them...

Before dinner, they went to do argonaut training for another hour. The argonaut charged firebolt had reach a really scary point as Bell had attained roughly an extra level of magic stats and it really showed.

It was then dinner at the Hostess, with Syr and Ryuu coming to check on their situation. They were glad that the Hermes accommodations worked out though Syr had a mischievous smile as they talked about the accommodations...

When Bell got to the Hermes home, Hestia was still in the bath. After another hour later, she finally came into the room as Bell was waiting. Her skin was really red having been in the bath for a long time.

Bell "Goddess, are you alright?"

Hestia "I am fine. I just needed a long bath after what happened today. That is all"

Hestia then gave Bell an update, and she was pleased with the progress "Bell, your growth is back to the previous insane level"

Bell laughed "Well I did a lot of sparring with Ais"

Hestia "That would explain it. She does bring out the best in you" while feeling an incredible jealousy before going to brush her teeth for a long long time.

Level 3

Strength: 383 - 438

Endurance: 568 - 627

Agility: 450 - 515

Dexterity: 356 - 407

Magic: 793 - 868

Magic - firebolt

Skill - Liaris Freese (hidden), Argonaut

Development ability - luck, abnormal resistance

\- The Next Morning -

Bell and Hestia went to the meeting at the guild together with Hermes and Asfi. Many heads of familias were present including Loki, Hephaestus, Miach, Ganesha, Take, Freya, Apollo, Modi, Dian Cecht, Dionysus, Soma, Goibniu and Ishtar.

Ganesha then got up to talk "I am Ganesha, and you warring parties need to resolve your differences"

Angry Apollo marched out a limping pallum who was completely bandaged up "Hestia's rabbit badly injured my member, a poor helpless level 1. I demand a war game"

Smiling Hermes "That is ridiculous. You have 100 members. Hestia has 1. That is no entertainment. You are just lusting after fresh rabbit"

Indignant Apollo "I demand justice not entertainment" but did not address the rabbit lust part.

Annoyed Loki rolled her eyes "Why would we go along with you simply trying to steal a talented child, you crazy freak", as Hephaestus, Hermes, Miach, Ganesha and Take agreed with Loki.

At that time, Freya got up to talk...


	19. Chapter 19

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

With Apollo and Hestia seeming at an impasse, Freya got up to talk.

Freya "I disagree. There is entertainment value in this."

Hestia "What value is there in a gross mismatch of 100 vs 1"

Freya "I guess it is a mismatch. Apollo should be allowed to bring in more help"

Hermes "LOL, Freya is funny"

Freya "You dont think it is a mismatch Hermes. I say Apollo has no chance if it is a siege and Apollo is on the defense"

Hestia "That is not even funny. 100:1 and Apollo has no chance?"

Freya "So if Bell does as I teach him and he wins, what would you give me?"

Hestia "Nothing, you pervert"

Freya "But are you a goddess true to her word?"

Hestia "What?"

Freya "Your word is Bell has no chance in a 100 to 1 against Apollo. So if you are true to your word, then you should put your honor where your word is"

Cornered Hestia "Fine, we will play your game. What do you want if Bell won following your instructions."

Freya smiled "A date with Bell-kun"

Hestia "Impossible!"

Freya "But you said there is no chance of this happening. If you are true to your word, then you should be fine with it.", making Hestia quiet.

While Hestia tried to think of a response, Apollo voiced his objection "Wait what do I get if I won?"

Apollo "I want the boy."

Freya "And if you lost?"

Apollo "It does not matter. Hestia can have whatever she wants. It will never happen"

Freya "See Hestia, you get whatever you want from Apollo if Bell wins"

Freya to Apollo "If you won, instead of the rabbit, I offer you myself for 1 night"

Apollo's heart nearly stopped completely. By the time he was able to talk, he could barely verbalize "Sure that is fine with me. You can substitute for the rabbit"

Freya "Now Hestia, Apollo has made your upside very interesting. If Bell wins, you get whatever you want from Apollo. If Bell loses, you lose nothing though I get my date with Bell. If you are a goddess of your word, you should agree. "

Loki thinking "Hestia dont do it. Dont do it. The witch is very clever"

Hephaestus thinking "What is Freya doing? Is it possible Bell can beat 100 by himself?"

Hestia thought about it, but she really was cornered "Fine, that is acceptable as long as the details can be worked out"

Freya "Apollo and Hestia, siege, Apollo plays defense. Each side can only have familia members take part"

Apollo "Fine with me"

Hestia "But that is the worst case for 100 against 1"

Freya "Well, if Bell loses, you lose nothing"

Hestia "Fine"

Freya "5 days for each side to prepare starting today. Since I am teaching Bell how to win this war, he will train with Ottar and my familia"

Apollo "Yes"

Hestia "He is not going to the Folkvangr"

Freya "Training can be at a location of your choice. And you are welcome to attend all of the training"

Hestia "Then fine"

Freya "Hestia, please tell Bell that training starts this afternoon. You choose the location"

Hestia "Bell likes to train on the city wall close to the Twilight Manor"

Freya smiled "Yes, I know" making Hestia feel uneasy.

With the war game settled, everyone started to leave with most wondering about what Freya was up to.

Loki thought "The witch exchanged herself for the rabbit bait to Apollo if the rabbit loses. She can handle that. If the rabbit wins, then she gets the date to try to steal Bell. And she gets to train Bell for a few days. Very interesting..."

Hephaestus thought "Hestia is probably in over her head. But Freya will try to steal her child anyway, so this does not make a big difference in the big picture"

Hermes thought "Is there any way for me to get into that Freya action? What do I have to trade?"

Hestia went back to work while Bell went with Loki to tell Ais about the news. Ais is not going to be happy about her bunny being pimped out...

\- At the Twilight Manor -

"WHAT!" Ais was beyond furious!

Ais "Loki, you allowed my bunny to be sold!"

Loki "Freya made this strange move. No one could really stop her"

Ais crying out loud "OMG, I want Bell to win, but then that means he goes on a date with Freya OMG! I am so miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. So miserable. "

Ais "Bell, how could you agree to this?

Bell "I was not in the negotiations. Hestia had to agreed to it because she was cornered by Freya"

Loki "Freya managed to worm herself into this..."

Bell "Dont worry Ais. You are the most beautiful girl in the world to me, and I dont care if she is the goddess of beauty. If I do win and there is dinner, then it is just a dinner. She means nothing to me. You are everything to me" making the girl feel a lot better.

Ais "Bunny, you are going to have to be especially nice the next few days. I dont know how I am going to be able to fall asleep"

Bell "Yes and I will tuck you in every night just the way you like it wink wink" giving her a hug and kiss.

\- After Lunch -

When Hestia and Bell got to the city walls, Freya and Ottar were already there along with a few pallums from her familia.

Freya smiled "Well here is the bunny"

Bell "Goddess Freya"

At that point, Loki showed up with Ais.

Freya smirked "Look who the cat dragged in"

Loki "Bell's girlfriend wanted to see his training. Do you have any problem with that"

Freya smiled "That is fine. But lets have all the spectators be on one side so they have more room to spar" so Loki, Ais and Hestia all moved to one side against the wall.

Freya "Bell and Hestia, please meet my captain, Ottar, who is the only level 7 in Orario", as they greeted each other.

Ottar "I will be in charge of Bell's training. Lets assess how strong Bell is right now. Bell come attack me with everything you have"

So the two sparred for a short while. Bell tried to attack but Ottar was insanely strong. He was both stronger and faster than Bell, and he seem to have something beyond difference in stats. Within 30 seconds, Bell was slammed against the wall.

Ottar "My lady, he is fighting like an early-mid level 5."

Freya "That is indeed impressive for a level 3"

Ottar "I will have the Gulliver brothers take turns against him. Being advanced level 5s, they are slightly stronger, but he needs to fight fighters that are stronger than him." So Ottar started Bell off with the pallum brother with the hammer as Ottar wanted to give Bell someone stronger but not as quick.

As they sparred, Bell was indeed weaker but he was significantly more agile than the hammer wielding brother. With both using their actual weapons, it was much more dangerous than what Bell did with the Loki members. It was hard for Ais to watch as Bell did get bashed a few times ending up with broken bones that required potions. The pallum also got cut very badly so they also had to heal him.

After about 30 minutes of sparring, they took a break. At that point, Ottar gave Bell some suggestions.

Ottar "Bell, the technique you were taught is a more defensive-first approach. I am going to show you a more offense-intense style. You may get injured more, but you will hurt your opponent faster. In some cases, the offense-first style may help you win. That is especially true against weaker opponents in the Apollo familia. You will have to modify your approach based on the actual results in the battle"

After a lot of coaching, Bell was starting to understand how to fight offense-first. Indeed, he could see the advantages with the ruthless mentality that the Freya familia seems to specialize in. After about 30 minutes of coaching, they went back to sparring against the hammer wielding member.

Freya to Ais "How do you like the bunny using our aggressive style"

Ais "It does work well with his dual daggers, but I do not think it would work well against someone stronger than him"

Ottar "That is true, but it may help him to learn faster in the few days of training"

Loki "That is true. I can understand where you are getting at here"

They allowed the two to battle for an entire hour. Bell was not used to the offensive style. While he learned quickly, he did get hammered a lot resulting in potion breaks. It was really hard for Ais to watch, but they now understand why the Freya members are so strong with the ruthless way in which they trained. Their sparring was far more realistic, so they should gain more excelia.

By the end of the hour, Bell had made clear progress and it was very evident to all who watched.

Freya "It is incredible how fast the bunny grows. We can actually see the progress over only an hour, and it is quite evident when watching from nearby"

Loki "Yes the bunny is quite special"

Freya "Well your familia has been gifted with such a treat with everyone training the bunny"

Loki "Of course you would know that"

After the hour was done, it was time for recovery potions and more coaching. Seeing Bell's progress in the new offensive style, Ottar gave him a few more suggestions for when to be aggressive and how best to cut down the opponent. Hearing the way Ottar talk, everyone can understand how Ottar was able to reach such a high status with the ruthless vicious style he looked at battles.

It was then more sparring with the hammer wielding pallum. Just over the two hours, it was clear that Bell had made an incremental improvement against his opponent. After 30 minutes, Freya had a suggestion.

Freya "Kenki, would you like to try out the bunny's new technique. Always curious about getting stronger, Ais got up and used the scabbard as her weapon.

Freya "So you will not use a real weapon"

Ais "No I will not cut my bunny" with mini-Ais holding her ground.

Bell also only used the scabbards for his daggers as he refuses to cut his girlfriend, which also supported Ais' stance.

Freya "Alright let's see if there is any improvement"

Bell used his new aggressive style and Ais immediately noticed the difference. Ais was still a better fighter but the more ruthless style of fighting made it difficult for her to attack while maintaining her defense-first approach. In a way, Bell was now dictating the tempo of the battle, which improved his performance against her. They went on for about 10 minutes but it really helped Bell get an appreciation for the difference in approach.

Ottar "It is time for magic practice. We should go to a location where Bell's cannon will not damage the city infrastructure", so they headed to their typical argonaut practice location.

When they reached the location, they had Bell use a couple recovery potions and then fire off a fully charged argonaut firebolt. The result was stunning, with Bell with magic stats similar to that of a mid/advanced level 5.

Freya soaking it all in "Glorious, what power"

Ais thought "Wow, it gets more incredible every time he uses it"

Normally Bell would use recovery potions immediately after using a full argonaut, but Ottar stopped him from doing so.

Ottar "To prepare you for fighting overwhelming numbers, you need to fight without the benefit of any help".

At that point, Ottar had 20 lower level fighters from his familia attack Bell. As they attacked him at once, it was very tough on Bell being already drained from the argonaut use. But still he fought through it. He got cut many times, but he also knocked out many of the lower level fighters. With argonaut draining his mind, he did not have too many use of firebolts remaining. At the end, when 3 level 3's had Bell at too much of a disadvantage, he had no choice but use firebolt. While the firebolt defeated the three fighters, Bell suffered from a mind down.

As help was brought to the injured, Ais went to take care of Bell. While giving him a lap pillow, she poured potions to heal his wounds.

Loki "Now I see how you train your children"

Freya "Well, the most realistic training gives the best results"

Hestia "I see that. It is a ruthless approach to a ruthless situation"

Freya "Yes, many call it tough love, but I just want to push them to grow as fast as possible"

Hestia "Well, I cannot disagree with you on logic, but it is hard to watch"

Freya smiled "That is why many call it tough love"

Loki "I dont have the heart to train my children this way either"

Freya "Tomorrow, lets meet here at 9am. To win the Apollo war game, Bell needs to use his cannon first to take out as many Apollo members first before taking out the remainder."

Ottar "Yes we will rehearse his use of the cannon and then send waves of attackers for him to fight. The rabbit needs to build up his endurance so he can fight after using his cannon"

Loki "Quite the dress rehearsal"

Hestia thought "OMG, Bell could win this way and then Freya gets her chance"

Loki thought "The witch is really smart, ruthlessly smart. She was right about it being a mismatch. That cannon could take out most of the Apollo members in one shot"

\- The Next Morning -

When Bell woke up, Hestia updated his status. With still 4 more days of training, almost all of Bell's stats could well be close to s level by the war game.

Level 3

Strength: 438 -499

Endurance: 627 - 696

Agility: 515 - 576

Dexterity: 407 - 468

Magic: 868 - 953

Magic - firebolt

Skill - Liaris Freese (hidden), Argonaut

Development ability - luck, abnormal resistance

Bell and Hestia again went to meet Freya and Ottar at the designated location. Loki and Ais were already there along with Freya, Ottar and a large number of low level members.

So it was the fully charged argonaut that was even stronger than the last one. And then 20 level 1 to level 3 attacked Bell. With the situation being less of a surprise, Bell did a bit better. He defeated many though got significantly injured again. He tried to fight through the battle without firebolt, but several fighters had him at a disadvantage. When it was clear he had to use magic, Ottar stopped the fight.

Ottar "We do not want to risk a mind down because you have more training to do."

So it was potions and recovery potions while Bell got a long 30 minute rest. It was then time to fight the pallum brother with the hammer again. The battle went on much like the day before. While Bell was stronger and faster than the day before, he was a bit tired from the argonaut practice.

After the battle with the hammer wielding brother, it was another break and then sparring the brother with the great sword for the rest of the day.

\- That Evening -

Mikoto visited Bell and Hestia and requested to join Hestia's familia. Apparently she felt honor bound to help Bell in such a difficult battle. Take approved the transfer so Bell and Hestia were ecstatic about having a second member.

The third day was much of the same with Bell again faster and stronger than the day before. Argonaut practice in the beginning before fighting 20 level 1 to level 3. Then sparring with the brother with the hammer, and then the brother with the great sword.

\- That Evening -

Welf visited Bell and Hestia and also requested to join Hestia's familia. Like Mikoto, Welf also felt honor bound to help his friend who had saved him many times in the dungeon. Hephaestus approved the transfer and even gave Welf a part gift, a hammer. So Hestia and Bell got their third member.

The fourth day was another repeat except Bell sparred first with the brother with the great sword and then the brother with the axe.

Finally on the fifth day they repeated everything again except Bell sparred first with the brother with the axe and then the brother with the spear. By the end of the fifth day, Bell was almost fighting evenly with the brothers. Even more importantly Bell was doing much better enduring the attack by the 20 level 1 to level 3 after using a fully charged argonaut.

That evening, Bell's updated stats were amazing. The magic stat was already ridiculous again while the endurance stat already was at s level. Hestia could see what Freya's children are so successful.

Level 3

Strength: 499 - 753

Endurance: 696 - 977

Agility: 576 - 828

Dexterity: 468 - 670

Magic: 953 - 1302

Magic - firebolt

Skill - Liaris Freese (hidden), Argonaut

Development ability - luck, abnormal resistance

\- Next Day at an Old Castle outside Orario -

The Apollo members took their place inside the castle, with their executives upstairs in the throne room. The archers and the mages were well positioned on the second level while the fighters were on the castle walls providing surveillance for the castle.

At that time, Cassandra was begging Hyakinthos to evacuate the castle because in her dream, the castle will soon be destroyed. The pathetic display caused both Hyakinthos and Dalphne to roll their eyes.

Dalphne "Cassandra, stop with your stupid dreams"

Hyakinthos "I dont want to hear about these foolish dreams again"

Some distance from the castle, Ottar went with Bell, Mikoto and Welf to the battleground. He coached them up on how to fight together. He also pointed out the old castle to Bell.

Ottar "This is a siege and the enemy will be inside. When you start, use your cannon with your full argonaut powers. Aim for the top half just in case you are not strong enough to wipe out the entire castle."

Ottar to Mikoto and Welf "You can assist Bell after he fires that cannon. Watch each other's back"

After some more preparation by the grounds crew, the battleground was set.

\- At the Babel -

All the gods were watching using their mirror magic, which was activated all over Orario including the Hostess. Loki, Hestia, Hephaestus, Miach and Take were sitting together. Apollo was mostly by himself, but Freya stayed in her penthouse to enjoy the battle.

\- Outside the Guild -

Ibri was on his stage outside the guild doing play by play of the war game. With Ibri on the stage was Hermes who would be making comments.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Ais was watching intently with her familia members. Next to her was Tiona, Tione and Lefiya. Riveria was watching with Finn and Gareth on the other side. Bete was also watching but mostly by himself.

\- At the Castle -

With the battleground set, the war game has officially started.

Following the game plan sat up by Freya and Ottar, Bell immediately charged argonaut. Fortunately for Bell and his friends, the Apollo members waited behind their defenses as the siege time limit was 3 days.

After 4 minutes of charging, Bell activated Talaria and carried Welf and Mikoto with him. As he got into range of the castle, he aimed his firebolt at the top half of the castle as they had planned.

The argonaut strike was enormous, the biggest anyone has seen. The upper half of the castle was absolutely demolished. Apparently Cassandra managed to jump on Hyakinthos and Dalphne, forcing all of them out the window and crashing on the lawn below.

The three of them then saw the utter destruction by the enormous magic that wiped out the entire top floor of the castle. Many of the Apollo members were either knocked unconscious and/or severely injured. They could then see Bell and 2 attackers land on one side of the destroyed castle.

After Bell fired off the argonaut magic strike, he kept drinking recovery potions as they landed on one side of the destroyed castle. After landing, Bell immediately headed to attack as they wanted to give the Apollo members no chance to recover.

\- Outside the Guild -

Ibri started talking about the background of the Apollo familia and the Hestia familia.

Ibri then asked Hermes about powerful magics that may be used in the battle. Hermes then explained about Hyakinthos' fire magic and Bell's firebolt magic.

Then they saw Bell flying 2 others, and Hermes explained a little about Talaria.

Ibri "Wait, when did Hestia gain 2 new members"

Hermes "Word is that two of his friends joined him in the last minute. One is a former Take member, Mikoto, has a special gravity magic while the other is former Hephaestus member, Welf, also has an unique magic power."

Suddenly BOOOMMM and the enormous firebolt lit up all the mirrors.

Ibri "What in Hades just happened?"

Hermes "It seems the hero has used his trump card"

Ibri "oh my Ouranos, the entire castle is completely destroyed"

Hermes "Yes, I hope no one was killed"

Ibri "Now pushing their advantage, Bell Cranel and the 2 members of his familia have gone on the attack"

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Ais was really happy with the argonaut strike that wiped out the castle, though part of her was worried about the consequences of winning.

Tiona was cheering Bell on, while both Tiona and Tione were shocked at the size of the argonaut firebolt. It was much more powerful than what they saw on the 59th floor.

Finn, Riveria and Gareth just watched and realize who is going to win the hero race.

\- At the Babel -

Apollo was getting really worried after seeing the enormous argonaut strike.

Hestia and her friends were impressed with the destruction, but Hestia was not surprised at all.

Hestia thought "Well, looks like Bell is going on a date with Freya. Hope he can withstand her charm powers"

In her penthouse, Freya was enjoying the fight, but the quick pace of the battle was pretty anti-climatic for her. Not nearly the toughest battle that Bell has been involved in.

\- At the Hostess -

Syr was nervous at first, but then the cannon fired and she was absolutely amazed.

Ryuu just watched intently and the argonaut blast was like a level 6 fighting a level 1...

Most of the crowd bet on Apollo, but they became really worried after the argonaut blast.

\- At the Castle -

Lissos brought several remaining fighters to charge towards Bell, Welf and Mikoto. Mikoto then told Bell and Welf to go ahead as she would handle them. Chanting Futsunomitama, Mikoto soon captured the fighters in her gravity cage. She then pressed down on the fighters as hard as she could...

At that time, several remaining mages started chanting to attack Bell and Welf, but Welf told Bell to go ahead as he would handle the mages. With the mages half way into their chanting, Welf activated Will-o-wisp to cause Ignis Fatuus with the resultant magic explosions knocking out the mages.

Several archers then tried to shoot at Bell but he used a firebolt that wiped them out.

At that point, Bell came upon Hyakinthos, Cassandra and Dalphne...

\- Outside the Guild -

Seeing Mikoto's gravity trap, Ibri "There is the gravity magic that Hermes sama talked about. Wow, the purple cage is crushing the few Apollo fighters."

Hermes "Yes, things look bleak for Apollo now"

When Welf used his anti-magic powers, Ibri "Wow, Welf caused Ignis Fatuus and all the remaining Apollo mages are knocked out!"

Hermes "We are heading to the deciding moments of the War Game"

When Bell knocked out the archers, Ibri "Bell Cranel used some quick magic and all the archers are down"

Hermes "That looks like ultra short chant magic. The hero is ready to take on the 3 remaining Apollo members"

Ibri "It is now 3 against 1"

Hermes "The Apollo members are level 3, level 2 and level 2. Bell Cranel is a level 3. But I think we may now see that not all level 3's are created equal."

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Finn, Gareth and Riveria were no longer surprised by the pace of the battle.

Riveria "Well, this is almost over"

Finn "3 against 1 but Bell is fighting now like a level 5 and a mid or better level 5 at that."

Gareth "Lol, it is a total mismatch"

Ais was nervous watching Bell fight, but it was even becoming clear to Ais and mini-Ais that the battle was over. Mini-Ais had her pompoms out but there was not much cheering left to be done...

Tiona "Well it is 3 on 1 now!"

Bete jumped in "I saw Bell fight their captain before. Apollo has no chance"

Lefiya watched but could not believe that the level 3 Bell has surpassed her by such a wide margin. It is as if Bell is an advanced first class adventurer after only 6 weeks of adventuring...

\- At the Babel -

Apollo was in absolute shock, and he now feared for his existence in the lower world.

Hestia was really proud of Bell, and she knew the remaining 3 had no chance. The other gods were in agreement as this was becoming a yawner.

Freya drank her red wine, but the fight was moot. She enjoyed Bell's clear brilliant soul flashing, but that was all that remained.

Freya thought "Ottar did too good a job...

\- At the Hostess -

With the 3 on 1, both Syr and Ryuu realize the war game was essentially over. It was simply not a fair fight.

The crowd was really angry, with most of them realizing they have lost their gambling money.

\- At the Castle -

Mikoto had Lissos still trapped in her gravity trap, while Welf watched over the area to make sure there will be no surprise attacks from Bell's rear.

Bell came upon Hyakinthos, Cassandra and Dalphne with his dual daggers drawn. It was a 3 on 1, but Bell immediately knocked out Cassindra with a strong punch to the head. Dalphne was next with several slashes from his daggers.

With only Hyakinthos remaining, Bell "Do you want to surrender?"

Hyakinthos "You arrogant bastard" and charged towards Bell.

With several strikes befitting of a first class adventurer, Bell slashed Hyakinthos and then disarmed him. Afterwards, he just kept punching until the Apollo captain was knocked out.

With that, the war game was over.

\- Outside the Guild -

Ibri talked as fast as he could. He covered Cassandra's quick defeat. Then the slashes that knocked out Dalphne.

When Bell talked to Hyakinthos, Hermes "Wow, the Hestia captain is giving the Apollo captain a chance to surrender"

Ibri "Well the Apollo captain refuses the humiliation of surrender"

Ibri "Now they fight. Bell Cranel scores several slashes on the Apollo captain ... ... And now the Apollo captain has lost his weapon ... ... Bell Cranel is punching the Apollo captain ... ... It looks really bad..."

Hermes "And it is a knock out"

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Riveria, Finn and Gareth laughed at the mismatch wondering what amazing feat the rabbit will perform next.

Tiona congratulated Ais, but Ais was now more worried about the date with Freya. Mini-Ais was not pleased about that at all...

Bete was annoyed at himself comparing himself to new hero. So he headed out the door, which many assumed to be a short trip to the dungeon to take out his frustrations.

Lefiya was resigned to defeat.

Other Loki members were also amazed by Bell's growth though most were jealous.

\- At the Babel -

The gods and goddesses were not that entertained. The fight was too short.

Apollo was begging Hestia for mercy, but she disbanded his familia, stripped him of all his property while kicking the freak out of Orario. Hestia will soon get a new home without having to depend on Hermes for protection and all the consequences that went along with that...

\- The Next Night -

Bell and Freya were at the fanciest restaurant in Orario having dinner at a private room. The food was absolutely amazing. It was going to be a long date...


	20. Chapter 20

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Loki and Riveria were comforting Ais, who was having a nervous breakdown about Bell's date with Freya.

Ais freaking out "I want to go watch them to make sure she does not seduce my bunny"

Loki "The witch has special seeing powers. She will detect you instantly."

Riveria "Ais, that is something you simply cannot do. You need to trust the rabbit"

To take Ais' mind off of the date, Tiona and Tione offer to spar with Ais. Unfortunately, that may have been the biggest mistake they have ever made. Ais' frustration level was so high that the twins were defeated in record time. Seeking more help, Riveria went to find Bete, Finn and Gareth.

Knock, knock on the wolf's door.

Bete sounding sick "Who is it?"

Riveria "I need sparring partners for Ais"

Bete "Sorry old hag, I ate something bad. I am sure you do not want me to make a mess if I am hit in the stomach"

Riveria rolled her eyes and went to look for Finn...

Bete thought "Wow, that was close. Ais is even more dangerous now than with the paddle"

Knock, knock on Finn's office door.

Riveria "Finn, I need some help. I need to find more sparring partners for Ais"

Finn "Sorry Riveria, Gareth and I are going through different locations to look for the second entrance to the dungeon"

Riveria thought "Crap, both of them are hiding. All the boys are pathetic cowards. It is Bete's bad influence rubbing off on Finn and Gareth"

Riveria did find Loki who volunteered to help.

With Loki volunteering to be spanked, that bought time for Tiona and Tione to recover. After the spanking, Loki went to a bath to cool off her slim behind, leaving Tiona, Tione and Riveria to take the punishment...

\- Outside the Fancy Restaurant -

While Bell and Freya were on their date, the Freya privacy defense squad captured a couple invisible lurkers nearby - it was Hermes and Asfi. Apparently Allen, with a keen sense of smell, detected the remaining scent from Hermes' visit to the Pleasure Quarters the night before. So the two were tied up and hung upside down for the duration of the date. They prayed to Ouranos that would be the end of the punishment.

\- Inside the Restaurant -

As Bell and Freya dined inside a private room, the food was absolutely amazing. Freya wanted to know a lot about Bell's life.

First it was about his village before Orario and about his grandfather. She was particularly curious about his grandfather's writings of hero stories and about how his grandfather pushed him to be a hero. Then she asked about what his grandfather looked like and even about his grandfather's interest in harems.

Then Bell asked about Freya's goals and what she wants her familia to achieve. Freya told Bell that her goal is completing the 3 grand quests, the black dragon. She also told Bell that she is searching for her soulmate (gulp).

After that Freya wanted to know what drives Bell so hard. Bell was honest and told Freya that he wanted to be worthy of standing by Ais' side. He also told her how Ais saved him in the beginning of his adventuring.

Then Bell asked about how Freya choose his members, and she told him that she picked them by the colors of the souls. And then Freya told Bell what made Bell's soul so special was that it was so clear and brilliant unlike any she has seen.

Throughout the meal, Freya smiled at Bell many times, but it clearly was not working.

The deep penetrating looks that Freya gave Bell finally clicked for Bell. He finally realized it was Freya's watchful eyes that often stared down at him. Of course, though this cute rabbit looks got plenty of attention from various girls, Freya's eyes were different. Now he knew it was Freya.

After realizing Freya's focus on him, Bell then deduced that it was Freya who was behind the firebolt magic, the minotaur fight, and how it was all this time the tough love from Freya that helped him grow.

After the dinner, the dessert was served and it was absolutely delicious. Freya smiled at Bell again and asked whether the rabbit want a second type of dessert. But Bell was honest with Freya.

Bell "Goddess Freya, it is a real honor that you have taken an interest in me. But you must realize that my heart belongs to Ais Wallenstein now and forever. Even now, my soul feels alive because she is together with me. I hope you understand."

Freya "But I can give you everything you can want"

Bell "I already have everything I want. And much much more than anyone can ever dream of. The rest I will earn by hard work"

Freya looked as sad as a goddess of beauty can be, but Bell tried to cheer her up.

Bell "Goddess, you are so incredibly beautiful that I know things would be different if I was your child and met you first. But that is not how fate decided this"

Freya almost in tears from unrequited love "Fate does not deserve such power"

Bell smiled "I know that if I would have met you earlier, my heart would belong to you."

Bell then took Freya's hands and put it against his heart "Goddess, you can see my soul and you can feel my heart. I am going to think about Ais Wallenstein and how much I love her. Please consider that when you look at my soul and feel the pulse of my heart"

Freya could see Bell's soul becoming even more brilliant and more clear as he thought about Ais. And how his heart beat is synchronized with the way his clear soul pulsated brilliance. The color became more and more clear and more and more brilliant until it exploded into a supernova of rainbows that Freya had never witnessed before. She could not believe what she saw, but it was the most beautiful event that she ever witnessed. That brought the smile back to her.

Bell "I cannot see what you are seeing, but I think you are pleased with what you are seeing. This is how I feel about Ais Wallenstein. I cannot help the way I feel, and I do not want to change. Do you see that?"

Freya smiled "I do see that. You just showed this goddess that she has more to learn about the human soul. It is so incredibly astounding"

Bell "Thank you for the wonderful dinner, but I need to return to my girlfriend now. I know that she is worried sick about me"

As he pulled away, Bell told Freya "I now also realized what you have done for me. The magic. The minotaur. The training. Thank you. I will treasure what you gave me forever." with all the love and feeling that left Freya speechless.

Bell then gave Freya a hug "I will always remember what you have done for me. I will be there for you in a time of need, just like you have been for me. I promise with all my soul and all my heart" that pretty much brought Freya to a climax of emotions that she had never dreamed of.

Before turning to leave, Bell gave Freya a kiss on the cheek, with resulted in a Freya flying nosebleed as Bell turned away. She have never been so utterly in bliss.

\- A Short Time Later -

Bell arrived at the Twilight Manor. He was immediately told that Ais is in their training area. In fact, the guards rushed him to the training area.

When he got there, he saw Ais who was pacing up a storm carrying her paddle. Furthermore, a large pile of defeated Loki executives laid next to her. In the pile were Tiona, Tione, Riveria, Loki, Bete, Finn and Gareth...


	21. Chapter 21

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At the Twilight Manor Training Grounds -

As the guards rushed Bell to the training grounds, it was a shocking scene of utter despair for the Loki executives. Ais was pacing up a storm with her paddle next to the large pile of defeated Loki executives.

Bell "OMG Ais, what has happened?"

Scary Ais "Bell, you are back!" and went to hug the rabbit.

Bell "But everyone is lying here in bad shape" checking on their friends.

Bell "Ais, we need to take care of them"

Ais and Bell then princess carried the defeated executives inside. It was a strange feeling for the male executives to be carried by the 14 year old boy. It was especially uncomfortable for Bete, but he just kept repeating "Lucky rabbit, lucky rabbit" in his collapsed state. In contrast, Loki of course enjoy the princess carry from Ais.

After the executives were taken away to recover, Bell told Ais what happened with Freya.

Ais pouted "Do you think she will leave you alone now?"

Bell "I think she knows my heart belongs to you. And if she wants to see my soul shine the brightest, it was to be next to you. But over the dinner, I realized certain past events were also due to Freya"

Ais worried "What do you mean?"

Bell "I believe my firebolt came from a grimoire that was probably from Freya. The minotaur fight where Ottar blocked you. It was all Freya wanting me to get stronger. It seems she is enchanted by the color of my soul. Actually I know she is. So the stronger I get, it seems the more she enjoys the color of my soul" making Ais think the whole thing is pretty creepy.

Ais still worried "Do you think she is prettier than me?"

Bell "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met. The goddess of beauty does not compare to you."

Happier Ais "Well, are you going to be this romantic from now on?"

Bell winked "Once I am strong enough to press you down"

Blushing Ais pouted "What about now?" making the bunny sweat a bit.

Bell winked again "Well, you have a wait a little" making Ais pout even more.

Ais "You need to take responsibility soon!" though rabbit was happy that his girlfriend is eager for the relationship to be more official...

At that point, there were some giggling noises at the door, and it was the twins and Riveria spying on them.

Ais "I see you have not been punished enough..." chasing the 3 who ran for their lives with paddle in hand while the 3 screamed laughing about when the wedding will be ...

\- At the Folkvangr -

Ottar was worried about Freya, as she had been very quiet and melancholy after the date.

Finally Freya sighed "I have been utterly rejected and now I am utterly in love the boy"

Not knowing what to say, Ottar "Are you sure that you are fine, my lady?"

Freya "I have never felt so amazing but never been so devastated."

Freya sighed "The rabbit has revealed to me the brilliance of a soul that only he can. It is even more brilliant and magnificent than what I can see from afar. I am totally and completely addicted, but I dont know if he would share that again with me"

Ottar tried to comfort her "My lady, I am sure he will..."

Freya swooned "I hope so. That brought me to a climax I have never experienced. I am so addicted..."

\- The Next Day -

It was time to get serious again. The Loki executives started once again to search for the entrance.

Ais and Bell continued their training for the entire day as they would soon need to focus on the second dungeon entrance. During the sparring, they were almost even as Bell's stats also benefited from the war game. No one received a lap pillow so they just took potion breaks and hugging breaks.

Hestia was worried that Bell would automatically level again when his stats are very skewed favoring magic. Their theory is that if any or all of his stats were to reach 1500, the leveling could be triggered. So Bell did not practice argonaut or magic.

That evening, the Hestia familia celebrated privately Welf and Mikoto reaching level 2, which benefited substantially from the war games. When they returned to the Hermes home, Hestia updated him. Not only was his magic at a ridiculous level, but his endurance and agility were already at s or beyond.

Bell and Hestia went to sleep early, as the next day is their big day when they move into their new home as the former Apollo home would have been cleaned and painted.

\- The Next Day -

In the morning, Bell and Ais practiced sparring with the two practically fighting at an equal level. With how close in fighting they were, there was again no lap pillow to be had. Knowing his own growth rate, Bell could practically taste the feeling when he finally surpasses his girlfriend.

The Loki familia continued to search the city without much luck, but Riveria recalled what happened on the far wall of the 18th floor. So she led a search party with Lefiya, Tiona and Tione down to the 18th floor.

\- A Few Hours Later -

Bell and Ais had a potato puff lunch, and then they went right back to train. Time was tight because Bell need to move to his new home. By 3PM, with Ais having some familia duties, Bell went to pick Hestia up by himself.

Riveria's search party found a strange door made of Orichalcum on the far wall. There was the smoking gun they have been searching for. However, the door was very tough and they could not break it down. They figured they needed Gareth to dig around it and so they returned to the surface.

\- That Evening -

The assembled Hestia familia was enjoying their new home. Not only was their huge new home freshly cleaned and painted, they have paid the Hephaestus familia to build a forge for Welf and a bath for Mikoto.

When Riveria and her party returned to the Twilight Manor, she discussed the findings with Finn and Gareth. As they talked about situation, they thought about the strange identification sphere. Realizing a possible linkage, they agreed to check in with Asfi to see what she has learned about the item.

\- The Next Day -

In the morning, Ais came by to Bell's new home to check out his room. Afterwards, they decided to spar in the backyard instead of on the city walls. With the discovery of the strange door on the 18th floor, this would be the last day of training for Ais for a while. So they practiced for the entire day. Knowing that the cannon may be needed soon, Bell also decided to go with Welf, Lili and Mikoto to the dungeon the next day.

Riveria, Finn and Gareth went to find Asfi, who had some information on the sphere.

Asfi "The item inside is a human eye ball. With the D mark on the eye, it may well be related to the famous Daedalius family."

When they talked about the door on the 18th floor, Asfi "This sphere may well be a key for the locked door"

Finn "That is very interesting. The door may open up to a small closet, or it may be an entrance for the dungeon that extends all the way to the surface."

Asfi "If it is the latter, there may well be more locked doors"

Riveria "Asfi, do you think you can make a copy of the sphere?"

Asfi "I can try. My guess is that the D in the eyeball is what differentiates the item. Give me 2 days, and I will try to have a copy for you."

\- That Evening -

Bell, Mikoto, Lili and Welf returned after a good dive into the dungeon. Hestia was finally relaxed enough to do an update, which showed Bell at s or higher in all stats besides dexterity. Hestia pointed out that Bell is ready to level once he had done something that the gods would consider worthy of a leveling event.

Strength: 938

Endurance: 1155

Agility: 1031

Dexterity: 843

Magic: 1376

\- The Next Day -

The Loki familia went around Orario and the sewers looking for another door made of Orichalcum. They had 2 search parties with one led by Bete and the other by Gareth. By the end of the day, Bete did find another hidden door in the sewers.

Bell, Lili, Mikoto and Welf went for another dive into the dungeon. They were having a typical dive until the middle of the fifth floor. Suddenly, they ran into a large number of scantily clothed ladies.

Lady 1 "Wow, a cute bunny, I want to play with him"

Lili "Hands off Ishtar familia"

Lady 2 "I want to play with the bunny also"

Mikoto "You will leave Bell sama alone"

Lady 3, 4 and 5 "I also want to play with the cute bunny"

Bell was surprised by the attention. Yes he was used to get looks from ladies with his amazing rabbit looks, but this was ridiculous. As Lili, Mikoto and Welf tried to prevent the ladies from grabbing Bell, Bell noticed a very large frog like woman who was licking her lips when she saw the rabbit.

Bell "OMG" realizing it was the captain Phyrne.

Phyrne "Ok rabbit, I want some bunny loving" running towards Bell.

As Phyrne chased Bell, a large number of ladies followed. Mikoto, Lili and Welf were only able to stop a few when they got into a wrestling match with them.

Phyrne took out her weapons "Rabbit better stop. Or I am going to have to beat you up before eating you up"

Realizing this was more than a passing interesting, Bell prepared for battle with the frog like captain. Knowing that Phyrne is an advanced level 5, this was going to be difficult.

The battle was very close but Bell actually had a small advantage. While Phyrne seemed as strong as Bell, he was faster and more agile. After Bell got a few cuts in, Phyrne was furious when her face was cut. After a few minutes, Bell was clearly pushing her back. Surprised, Phyrne waved the other barbelas in for help. As many ladies attacked at once, Bell was on the defensive as he also did not want to kill them.

A few minutes later, Phyrne returned to the battle but with a strange golden glow around her. As Bell fought her again, it was like fighting a different person. She was now stronger than Bell while being just as quick. Soon Bell was on the defensive and being pushed back. With all the barbelas waiting to feast on the rabbit, Bell realized he had to use his trump card. So he activated Talaria and flew straight up to gather some distance from the ladies.

Hovering above the barbelas, Bell launched a few firebolts, defeating many barbelas. However, the Ishtar members also then played their trump card. Bell knew he was toast when he saw Mikoto, Lili and Welf all tied up with knives at their throats.

Phyrne "Rabbit, come down or your friends die"

Bell gulped and had to land despite his friends pleading him not to...


	22. Chapter 22

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

With the Ishtar familia holding Mikoto, Lili and Welf hostage, Bell had no choice but land and surrender.

Despite his friends' pleads, Bell was knocked unconscious, tied up and put in a bag. All 4 were carried in big bags and carried back to Orario.

\- A couple hours later -

In the early afternoon, the Ishtar familia reached the surface and headed towards the Belit Babili. They did feel a bit self-conscious as if someone seemed to be staring at them, but they carried their captives in big bags passed many unsuspecting adventurers.

\- A Short While Later -

The barbelas successfully reached Belit Babili without incident. Their put Mikoto, Lili and Welf in a locked cell, while Phyrne wanted to take the unconscious rabbit to her room. However Aisha and the other girls refused to let Phyrne devour the rabbit, as they feared consequences from their goddess. Thus after some argument, Bell was carried to the chambers of their goddess, who was extremely pleased with their offering.

Later on, someone came by the locked cell and dropped a note with a key. The note said that the boy was in the goddess' chamber usually with 2 attendants outside the chamber. The note had a map showing the chamber location and an underground way out of their location. The 3 then checked the hallway and then unlocked the door. Lili used Cinder Ella to turn herself into one of the ladies that captured them. Welf then headed to the underground corridor to get help from the outside. Meanwhile Mikoto used her ninja ways to avoid detection while tailing Lili on her way towards Bell's location.

\- At the Folkvangr -

Freya was furious. She soon noticed that Bell was carried away in a bag by the barbelas near the Babel. She immediately suspected that Ishtar was up to something.

She had Ottar gather her familia and prepare for operations. Meanwhile Ottar sent Allen and several others to monitor the situation in the Pleasure Quarters.

\- In Ishtar's Chambers -

The unconscious Bell was tied to the bed posts in a spread-eagle. As he was starting to stir, the happy Ishtar was ready to devour the boy with the cute rabbit look. Ishtar wanted to charm the boy and claim him. She knew this would devastate Freya.

Finally Bell woke up, and the goddess worked her charm. After the first smile, nothing. After the second smile, nothing. After the third smile, a funny smile suddenly came on Bell's face. That made Ishtar really happy that she has done what Freya could not. She then ordered the boy to ravage her after untying him.

\- At the New Hestia Home -

Welf ran all the way home, and fortunately Hestia was home after working for the day.

Welf "Goddess, Bell has been captured by barbelas. Ishtar is trying to claim him"

Hestia "OMG OMG OMG"

Hestia immediately ordered Welf to get help from the Loki familia. He needed to find Ais asap.

With no choice, Hestia herself headed to Hermes' home to get help.

\- In the Hallways -

As a barbela (Lili in disguise) walked several other girls, she heard about the rabbit being captured and what Ishtar was going to do. Another laughed about how Phyrne wanted to keep the rabbit for herself but has to wait until Ishtar is done with the rabbit. Lili felt really guilty that Bell had to give himself up because they were useless and got captured.

Soon Lili walked by the door to Ishtar's chamber. She then turned into another corridor and then Mikoto jumped down to talk to her.

Mikoto "Bell sama is in there. It is all our fault"

Lili "Yes we are the worst. But we must free master Bell now"

Lili "Aisha is their second in command. I will pretend to be her and have one of the attendants follow me.

Mikoto agreed and quickly attached herself to the ceiling while Lili turned into Aisha. Aisha (Lili) then walked to the attendants and had one of them follow her. Once in position, Mikoto jumped down on the unsuspecting attendant and knocked her unconscious with one blow to the head. Mikoto then changed into the clothes worn by the attendant as they quickly went back to the door where the other attendant still stood.

They then repeated the same trick where Mikoto knocked the second attendant out with a single blow to the head. They then dragged both attendants to an empty room as they prepared to save Bell.

\- At the Folkvangr -

Freya could still see the color of Bell's soul but it became less clear and more cloudy. She was furious and ordered immediate deployment of her familia. The attack on the Pleasure Quarter has been launched, and Freya herself was going with Ottar being her bodyguard.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

Welf reached the gate and indicated that he needed to talk to Ais or Finn immediately. When asked to identify himself, he said that he was the rabbit's friend and the rabbit has been captured.

Realizing how serious this was, the security guard immediately took Welf inside. Unfortunately, all the executives were in the mission to investigate the second entrance. So Welf was taken to Loki.

Loki "Well it is the bunny's smith friend"

Welf "Bell has been captured and it was all our fault."

Loki "Who captured the rabbit? He is pretty strong. Was it Freya?"

Welf "No, the Ishtar familia capture Mikoto, Lili and I. They then threaten Bell that they would kill us if he did not give up. So he gave himself up to save us"

Loki "What a noble rabbit. If I do not act, Ais is going to kill me. Hmmmmm, let's see what we can do"

Loki then gathered her remaining level 3 and level 4 adventurers and then ordered a few level 2 to go to Hephaestus to get Tsubaki and the Hostess to get help from the level 4 maids.

They then all headed to the Pleasure Quarters.

\- At the Hermes Home -

Hestia ran all the way there and fortunately and unfortunately, Hermes was there relaxing on his easy chair.

Breathing hard, Hestia "Hermes, Bell has been captured by barbelas. I need your help"

Calm Hermes "The rabbit was captured. How sad for the hero to get captured. What do you want me to do"

Still breathing hard, Hestia "I need your help to save Bell from Ishtar"

Hermes "Are you sure the hero needs saving. He may be having a lot of fun right now being a happy rabbit"

Desperate Hestia "Hermes, I NEED YOUR HELP"

Hermes smiled looking up at Hestia from his easy chair "How much is it worth to you? Better be a lot more than a bath"

Frantic Hestia "Whatever you want. Just save Bell"

Hermes smiled and got up from his chair "Whatever I want! And you need to say what a big stud I am the entire time!"

Worried Hestia "Well almost anything"

Hermes' smile went away and sat back down...

Determined Hestia "Almost anything. Now get up and help", dragging Hermes out of the room...

\- At Ishtar's Chamber -

Ishtar was lying on her bed. Bell was leaning over her as she swooned from the excitement.


	23. Chapter 23

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

\- At Ouranos Chamber -

Ouranos "There is something strange going on in the Pleasure Quarters. I detect a major disturbance in the force. Go immediately and investigate and report back."

Fels "Yes by your command" and then disappeared using his veil.

\- With the Freya Familia -

With the proximity of the Folkvangr to the Entertainment District, the attack on the Ishtar Familia soon started. Magic was blasting away, causing explosions everywhere. Fires were lit indiscriminately. Fighters bashed away at the barbelas with no mercy. In the middle of their battle formation was Ottar and Freya. They were within a couple minutes of the Belit Babili while the barbelas outside were running for their life away from the Freya members.

\- With the Loki Familia -

Welf followed Loki and her level 3 and level 4 members towards the Belit Babili. Soon the maids from the Hostess joined them wanting to save Bell. Even though she could not fight, Syr also went along.

As they got into the Pleasure Quarters, they heard lots of explosions and screaming. People were running around everywhere. It was a complete mess.

Curious Loki "What is going on? Did the rabbit get lose?"

Welf deducted "That sounds like too much screaming for what Bell would do"

Nevertheless, they prepared for battle while continuing towards their destination as quickly as they could.

\- With the Hephaestus Familia -

Tsubaki and a group of mid level Hephaestus members also headed towards the Belit Babili. Like the Loki familia, they did not understand why all the explosions and screaming were going on. Seemed like a lot more fighting than Bell or a group of 3 could possibly be doing.

\- With Hermes, Hestia, Asfi and the Hermes Familia -

With Asfi in the lead, the group rushed towards the Belit Babili. They were also confused with all the explosions and screaming. Soon they ran into the Loki members, so they decided to go together.

Hestia, Hermes and Loki asked each other about the explosions and screaming, but no one knew what was going on. Soon, they then ran into the Hephaestus group, so they all joined together in a huge group.

Curious Loki "If there is a big battle going on but we are all here, who is left?"

Hestia deducted "Not many choices left other than Freya and Ganesha if it is inside Orario"

Hermes chipped in "Does not sound like Ganesha at all"

Hestia concluded "Yes it must be Freya. She does have the motive."

Loki laughed "Well, she would be angry for Ishtar trying to grab Bell, does not matter which part of Bell she grabs..."

Worried Hermes "And it is totally unpredictable what happens after the battle"

Loki agreed "I wish my executives are here. What bad timing"

\- Inside Ishtar's Chamber -

Bell was leaning over Ishtar on the bed while she was swooning with excitement. Bell then started undoing his shirt, which only added to Ishtar's ecstasy. She cannot wait to conquer what Freya could not...

\- Outside Ishtar's Chamber -

Lili and Mikoto just finished dragging the unconscious attendants to another room. Thus, they took a deep breathe and prepared themselves for whatever was going on inside before trying to open the door. But it was locked and the door is made of a very tough material!

\- Outside the Belit Babili -

Phyrne and a large group of barbelas led a charge to repel the Freya familia. However, they were no match for the first class adventurers in the vanguard for the Freya group. Phyrne was beaten nearly to death by several executives. As the mismatch continued, Ottar and Freya walked inside leaving Allen in charge.

\- With the Loki, Hephaestus, Hermes and Hestia groups -

As the joint forces of the familias got near the Belit Babili, they could see the Freya members destroying the barbelas. While the slaughter continued, there was not much they could do as the Freya group could easily defeat them. Hestia asked the Freya members about Bell, but they told her to talk to Freya. When they asked where Freya was, they said inside, but the inside was not yet secured. Thus, Hestia, Hermes and Loki had to wait while hoping that Bell is ok.

\- Inside Ishtar's Chamber -

After Bell took off his shirt, he surprised Ishtar when he used his shirt to gag the stunned Ishtar so she could not scream.

At that time, Lili and Mikoto broke into the room, and they immediately saw the shirtless Bell on top of the Ishtar.

Lili yelled "Bell sama, dont do it!"

Lili's yell distracted Bell, who wanted to immediately hush Lili. However, with the distraction, Ishtar was able to jump away from Bell and then smiled at Mikoto and Lili.

Charmed, Mikoto and Lili were ordered by Ishtar to fight Bell. Fortunately, Bell was able to reach just in time his weapons lying on a table. However, Lili and Mikoto made things very difficult for Bell as he did not want to injure his friends while they were fighting as ruthlessly as they could. Ishtar then used that time to get to the door. Seeing that Bell was already close to subduing his 2 friends, Ishtar decided on a different tactic. They were too weak to fight him, but she wanted anyone else to get the rabbit other than Freya. So Ishtar gave Lili and Mikoto a shocking instruction as she ran out the door.

Bell was horrified with Ishtar's new command, which was for his 2 friends to rip off their own clothes and make Bell their own. With the naked Lili and Mikoto chasing him inside the room, Bell was really worried about what Ais would think.

However, Bell did not have much time to worry, as several barbelas stormed into Ishtar's chamber to attack them. Seeing that Lili and Mikoto were not in any mind to protect themselves, Bell used firebolt on the barbelas to buy time. He then grabbed the two naked girls to remove them from harm's way. With Lili and Mikoto happily grabbing onto him, Bell some how managed to put on his shoes to activate talaria. He then carried each naked girl in one arm as he crashed through the windows in Ishtar's chamber. As they flew off, the two girls were still trying to remove his trouser, which made it really difficult to fly.

\- Outside the Belit Babili -

Hestia, Hermes and Loki were still talking about how to save the rabbit when Bell, Lili and Mikoto crashed through the window.

Looking up, Hestia "What is going on? That is Bell. And he is carrying 2 naked girls"

Hermes laughed "ROTFLOL, see, I told you he is having fun"

Loki "Ais is going to be furious. She may need a bigger paddle"

But they then noticed that Bell was flying erratically, making them wonder why Bell was having too much fun with the girls while flying.

\- In the Air -

Bell was having a horrible time keeping the 2 girls from stripping him. Furthermore, with the girls pushing their assets in his face, it was really difficult to see where he was going. Fortunately, he noticed that Hestia, Loki and Hermes below with a large group of adventurers. So he decided it was safe to land and get some help with Lili and Mikoto.

In complete disbelief, Hestia, Hermes and Loki watched the boy land with the 2 naked girls in his arms. Ryuu and Syr were equally shocked with their mouth wide open. Tsubaki licked her lips. Asfi turned red and looked away. Welf laughed nervously. The junior members were jealous. From a bit further away, the invisible Fels was equally impressed and surprised.

Shocked Hestia "OMG"

Jealous Hermes "Lucky guy. Why does the hero get all the good stuff..."

Loki quickly figured it out "Lol, they have been charmed. So the rabbit has plausible denial lol"

Bell pleaded "Ahhhhh, help... please get them off of me!"

Hestia looking away "I see you have been a naughty rabbit, Bell-kun"

Bell pleaded again "Goddess, they are not of their own mind, please help!"

Hermes enjoying the show "There is nothing we can do. They will continue on until instructed otherwise by Ishtar"

Welf looking away "Yes some guys get all the fun"

Hermes to Hestia with evil smile "Take notes, Hestia" earning him a quick punch in the face.

As Bell continued to struggle against his two friends, a pillar of light suddenly reached the heavens.

Surprised Loki "Oh no"

Scared Hermes "Freya must be really really angry..."

With Ishtar's return to heaven, Lili and Mikoto soon stopped grabbing onto the shirtless Bell and looked at themselves...


	24. Chapter 24

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

\- Outside the Belit Babili -

With the pillar of light reaching the heavens, Lili and Mikoto suddenly stopped grabbing onto the topless Bell. Instead, they looked confused, then looked at each other and themselves. And then they screamed in their naked state.

Mikoto and Lili realized they were stark naked in front of Bell, Hestia, and a whole lot of adventurers and gods. It was like their worst nightmare coming true. And there was no place to hide as people were all around them including many guys checking them out and enjoying the view.

For Lili, she left nothing to imagination in front of Welf and many guys from various familias. Not only that, she realized that she was pushing her assets right into Bell's face. She could not remember what happened, but she had no idea what else she tried doing in her previous state. Many of the Freya members were staring so hard that they were leaving marks on her body. So was Hermes that scoundrel who is now enjoying that huge blush on her cheeks. Many guys were now also whistling at her. Some said she should work in the entertainment district. What is she going to do now? There is no escape!

For Mikoto, it was much the same. Only it was worst with her feelings for Take. Also how will she face Bell again with her assets pressed against his face? At least for Lili, she had interest in Bell, so it was more understandable. How will she face Take again after probably having done or tried to do unspeakable things with Bell. Hermes really enjoyed the view and was whistling at her impressive figure and small waist normally hidden by loose fitting clothing. Such entertainment value. Mikoto also was reaching embarrassment overload. There is no place to hide!

After screaming while crouching over to hide themselves for some time, a few elves from the Loki familia finally took mercy on them and saved their modesty with a few items of clothing.

Bell then went up to Hermes, Hestia and Loki to thank them for coming to help them.

Hermes "It was great entertainment, and it is only getting started" making Bell puzzled but Hestia furious.

Loki smirking "Rabbit, so how are you going to bribe me for not telling Ais about the naked girls?"

Cool Bell winked at Loki "Actually I will tell Ais myself. I intend to share everything with Ais." making Loki wonder what is going to happen. Then the smirk on Bell's face made Loki also realize that Ais is more likely to punish her for her role or lack of action in getting the girls off of him... That cheeky rabbit called her bluff!

At that point, Freya walked outside with Ottar by her side.

Freya "It is quite a party out here" but her eyes quickly latched onto the shirtless Bell.

Bell walked up to Freya "Goddess Freya, thank you for coming to help us"

Freya "That is fine. Bell" and petted him on the head, which made almost everyone in her familia extremely jealous. The more than cordial relationship between Freya and Bell did make everyone think for a while. Having accomplished what she wished, Freya ordered her familia to return to the Folkvangr with her.

At that point, all the barbelas had lost their power, so everyone but the badly injured Phyrne was just sitting on the ground being lost and not knowing what to do. However Mikoto saw someone in the large group of barbelas that greatly surprised her.

As Mikoto ran up to a fox girl with golden hair "Haruhime!"

The fox girl looked down unable to say anything.

Mikoto "Haruhime, what are you doing here? Talk to me"

Haruhime then explained how she was tricked and sold into the Ishtar familia.

Mikoto "Was it you who gave us the key and map", which Haruhime acknowledged.

Lili heard what happened "Thank you for saving us"

Mikoto "Haruhime, were you a member of the Ishtar familiar?"

Haruhime "Yes I was"

Hestia seeing the cute fox "Do you want to join our familia?"

Haruhime "If you will be so kind to accept a former prostitute" like a knife stabbed in Mikoto's heart.

Hestia "I will accept you since you are friends with Mikoto and also helped saved my children" which made Haruhime teary eyed.

Lili and Mikoto were happy to see the satisfying conclusion, but their happiness was short-lived as Hestia had a naughty smile which reminded them of what happened.

Lili "Hestia sama, are you going to use what happened against us?"

Hestia "Well, Mikoto is a really good girl so why would I do such a thing?"

Lili "What about me?"

Hestia "Supporter kun, well I treat good girls nicely."

Lili "Baka, come on Hestia sama!"

Hestia "Lol, are you going to behave from now on?"

Lili "Absolutely no!"

Hestia smiled "Supporter kun, then prepare to be teased"

Bell "Goddess, how about we give them a break from the teasing. I am sure Lili and Mikoto had a tough time and need a rest"

Hestia seeing Bell helping Lili "Bell-kun you cheater!"

Bell protested "But it was very tough for them"

Hestia "And it was very tough for me!" while Hermes smirked in the background

At that time, a large group approached them and it was the Loki executives!

Ais running over "Bell, you are alright?"

Bell "Ais! Yes I am now"

Curious Ais "There is a nasty rumor that we heard. It was about a winged hero carrying 2 naked maidens flying around the city"

Nervous Bell "Well, Mikoto, Lili and I were captured by the Ishtar familia. And Ishtar charmed Lili and Mikoto to remove their clothes. I did carried them in that state down here using talaria.

Jealous Ais "Did anything else happened?"

Nervous Bell "Well, Ishtar first had Lili and Mikoto attack me. When that did not work, that is when she had them remove their clothes and try to claim me the old fashion way"

Furious Ais "Where is Ishtar?"

Nervous Bell "Well I think Freya sama sent Ishtar back to heaven"

Without Ishtar to punish, Ais "Did you take advantage of the situation"

Calm Bell "Well Mikoto and Lili are both pretty, but I only have eyes for you, my princess" earning lots of respect from the executives with how Bell skillfully handled Ais' difficult questions. However Loki was getting more and more nervous with where the line of questioning is heading.

Curious Ais gives Bell a kiss reward on the cheek but still had more questions "So where did Lili and Mikoto try to claim you?"

Bell "Both in Ishtar's chamber, during the flight, and down here", as Loki was getting more worried.

Curious Ais "So how did you stop them?"

Bell "They could not be stopped because no one could undo the charm"

Curious Ais "So how did it end"

Bell "Well Ishtar was sent back to heaven. Then they regained control and stopped. Then your familia members gave them some clothes"

Curious Ais "There was a rumor that Lady Loki and Hestia did not provide you with assistance while Lord Hermes enjoyed the show. Is that true", as everybody realized they were played.

Unable to lie, Bell "Yes they did not give any assistance and said for me to wait until Ishtar reverses the charm" at that time, Hermes, Hestia and Loki were really scared.

As the furious Ais approached the 3 deities, Asfi left Hermes to fend for himself, Loki smiled nervously and Hestia was wondering how spanking feels like.

While things looked bad for the 3 deities, Finn suddenly interrupted.

Finn "Bell, we have discovered 2 entrances to a man-made dungeon Knossos. The sphere from the 18th floor is indeed a key. And the copy that Asfi created also works. We are going to raid the Knossos tomorrow. We will need the cannon."

Finn's interruption did saved the 3 deities as everyone had to get down to business. Loki though knew her punishment is going to be severe.

With the seriousness of the Knossos situation, Ais and Bell trained late into the night. They wanted Bell as strong as possible with the demi spirit threat and the creatures. There was a healthy bump in his stats from fighting with the Ishtar barbelas and the training.

\- The Next Morning -

The Knossos raid would be performed by 2 groups. Using the 18th floor entrance would be Gareth, Riveria, Tiona and Tione. Going through the entrance in the sewers would be Finn, Bete, Ais, Bell, Lefiya. Despite Bete's protests, a large number of mid level support members as well as Filvis from the Dionysus familia would be going along. Near the 18th floor entrance, the Hephaestus familia members and a Dian Cecht member by in case of a problem. Near the sewer entrance, members of the Ganesha familia and Amid of the Dian Cecht familia also stood by to assist if necessary.

The attack will start at noon, which allowed enough time to synchronize the attacks. For Gareth's group, the journey down to the 18th floor was uneventful, as monster stayed away from the large group. For Bell's group, they waited in Orario near the sewer entrance.

While they waited, Bell and Ais trained really hard for a few hours. Bete, Finn, Lefiya, Filvis and others watched them spar in amazement. Bell was basically fighting evenly with Ais, though neither used their dangerous trump cards.

Shortly before noon, Hestia came by and gave Bell an update as he guzzled down potions. His stats were ss or higher in all stats except dexterity:

Level 3

Strength: 1002

Endurance: 1217

Agility: 1125

Dexterity: 904

Magic: 1398

Then at noon sharp, Finn used a key to open the huge door. At the same time, Gareth's group also entered from the door on the 18th floor.

Finn's group headed down the Knossos, though the top floors were relatively small so they soon reached the 3rd floor. Gareth's group saw a huge number of cages in various rooms with monsters inside the cages that seemed to be drugged. So both parties continued to try to meet in the middle.

On the 3rd floor, Finn's group ran into a large number of water spiders which was dealt with by Bete. At the same time, Valleta from the Thanatos familia had a large number of violas attack them, which kept Lefiya, Filvis, Ais and Bell very busy. Finn, feeling his thumb ache badly, was soon ambushed by Revis who came out of a nearby secret door using a cursed dagger. Finn immediately collapsed from the bad wound.

At the same time, Gareth's group ran into several groups of Evilus wearing explosive belts, which made things tough for them. There were many injuries before Riveria and several elf mages detonated a lot of the Evilus' belts before they could launch further attacks.

\- A Short While Later -

With Finn suffering a serious injury, Raul immediately grabbed and carried Finn to the rear, but he was unable to treat Finn's wound with a potion. Seeing Revis, Ais immediately moved to engaged her to protect her group. Finally finishing off the water spiders, Bete went to assist Raul with Finn, while Bell, Lefiya and Filvis continued to battle the remaining violas. Unfortunately, Ais was no match for Revis who used a large green sword. Seeing that, Bell immediately went to help Ais while white particles were forming around Bell's hand. With a 20 second argonaut charged slash, Bell managed to knock Revis back against the far wall. Surprised by the force of the slash, Revis assumed that Bell was higher level than Ais and decided that it would be too risky to fight both of them. As Revis retreated, Bell treated Ais with a potion while Bete and Raul headed back to the surface carrying Finn.

Gareth's group continued to make progress going up the floors while battling evilus and various monsters. It did appear that they met with much less resistance than Finn's group.

\- A Few Minutes Later with Bell's Group -

To get Finn treated, Bete protected Raul and Finn on the way back to surface. After sending Raul through the doorway, Bete sped back to rejoin Ais, Bell, Lefiya, Filvis on the raid.

In a control room, Barca from the Thanatos familia and Dix from the Ikelos familia watched the raiding parties' movements through the use of water films. Barca then suggested to Dix that his monster smuggling business would be destroyed if it was discovered. With no choice, Dix agreed to join the fight.

While continuing to watch the Bell's party through the water films, Barca started using his eye to remotely activate doors and traps. First, Bete and many lower level members fell through a large trap door. After that Bell and Ais were separated from Lefiya and Filvis when another trap door activated.

Then Dix, disguised as an Evilus member, attacked Bete and the lower level members using his curse, Phobetor Daedalus. While Bete escaped from the curse with Rakta, unfortunately the other members were affected. With the other members going crazy from the curse, Bete was only able to help a few of them.

After being separated, Lefiya and Filvis wandered through the Knossos trying to find other members of their party. The two Elves eventually got to a location that appeared different from the rest of the Knossos. The area was lit with a blue light with many columns supporting it. The walls also had murals that depicted various disasters and destruction. At that time, Thanatos showed himself, surprising the elves. Furthermore, he went to explain that the black dragon in one of the murals was the nidhogg, which was the most feared monster until the 3 disasters appeared...

Gareth's group continued to quickly move up the Knossos, ending up at a room with another pitfall trap which was activated by Barca. They soon then found themselves in a maze. At that point, a large monster with the upper half of a beautiful girl charged at them...

After being separated, Bell and Ais continued to navigate through the Knossos while avoiding traps and Evilus. They continued on until reaching a circular laboratory. The room appeared to be abandoned, but many broken flasks and pipes remained. When Ais reached out to touch one of the broken flasks, her blood reacted strongly, making her realize a jewel fetus was once inside the flask. With 7 broken flasks, were there 7 demi spirits in the Knossos or in Orario? Suddenly, they hear explosions and loud crashes in a nearby location...


	25. Chapter 25

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

\- In Orario -

Reaching the surface, Raul carried Fin to Airmid, who was one of the backup personnel waiting near the sewer entrance. She immediately started treating Finn, who had lost a lot of blood.

\- In the Knossos -

Bete was able to knock out several junior Loki members but unable to stop all of them from their curse-induced madness. But he knew he had to stop Dix for the curse to end. Unfortunately, Dix ran off so Bete needed to find him.

After meeting Thanatos, Lefiya and Filvis continued to wander the Knossos trying to find their other members.

Gareth, Tiona and Tione were battling with the demi spirit, but were getting thrown back very badly. The monster's body was hard like adamantine, and actually damaged their weapons. When Riveria and other mages used magic, the demi spirit used a lightning type armor that shielded it. When Tiona and Tione tried to attack its legs, it instead slammed its hooves into the ground to cause a huge explosion that blew them away against the far wall.

When Bell and Ais heard the explosions, they headed towards it and found their friends being punished by the monster. While white particles were surrounding Bell for some time, it was not even yet 2 minutes. He wanted at least 3 minutes. Ais, seeing her friends being punished, went off in ariel to attack the monster. But the lightning armor was even too much for ariel, with Ais soon slammed against another wall.

Seeing Ais pushed back, there was no more time. Bell fired off his argonaut even though it had not reached 3 minutes. It was nevertheless a huge blast, and the monster's front legs were severely damaged.

With the monster half-crippled, Tiona, Tione, Ais and Gareth jumped in again for another assault. Seeing the monster was already starting to regenerate, there was no time to lose. Thus Bell also ran towards the monster while white particles started to form around him again.

Tione wrapped List lorum on the monster's neck to suffocate it, as Gareth helped her pull. Tiona attacked the monster's legs with urga while using Intense Heat and Berserk. Ais slashed the monster's upper body with Desperate while Tione and Gareth kept pulling on List Lorum. With about a 15 second charge, Bell launched his punch at the monster's head, which finally snapped off the monster's upper body. Riveria then use Rea Laevateinn to completely incinerate the monster's body.

After the difficult victory, Tiona and Tione both collapsed and had to be carried. By that time, Bete finally found them and had really bad news. Apparently the enemy had killed several of their junior members including Line. With the bad news and the collapsed twins, it was time to retreat back to the surface...

\- An Hour Later -

Hestia and Loki were both eagerly waiting when the raiding party returned to the surface. Hestia immediately hugged Bell while Loki went to talk to Gareth and Riveria.

Loki looking at the unconscious amazons "Are they ok?"

Gareth "They are healed but a good night of sleep should do it"

Riveria "We have bad news Loki. We lost 5 members including Line", which quieted Loki.

Loki "Well, that is really bad. Lets talk about it at the Twilight Manor. You can visit Finn tomorrow. He made it ok thanks to Airmid"

With that, everyone went back to their homes. It was dinner time but no one even wanted to eat out with the loss of life.

\- At the Hestia Home -

Welf and Mikoto were happy to see Bell, and Bell got to know Haruhime a bit more. It turns out the both Bell and Haruhime were big fans of hero stories.

Later that night, Hestia gave Bell an update. And he leveled, which was expected with his role against Revis and the demi spirit. The final stats were amazing with all stats at ss or above with interest skill ox slayer and ability escape. Furthermore, they discovered that jamming one stat at 1500 did not force the remote level up like for level 2.

Level 4

Strength: 1182 - 0

Endurance: 1339 - 0

Agility: 1254 - 0

Dexterity: 1005 - 0

Magic: 1500 - 0

Skill - Liaris Freese (hidden), Argonaut, Ox Slayer

Development ability - luck, abnormal resistance, Escape

\- At the Loki Home -

There were a lot of sorrow and sad members, but they all knew the risks involved. Nevertheless, a few members took it really hard. In particular, Bete was absolutely furious and made a huge commotion before stomping out of the home. Gareth thought he just needed to blow off steam, but Riveria and Loki expressed that they have never seen Bete like that.

\- The Next Morning -

Bell wanted to check on Ais and her familia given their casualties. First, he went to the hospital to check on Finn. Fortunately, Finn was already awake and all the executives except Bete were in his room.

Finn was happy to see Bell "Bell, thank you for checking on me. I heard you did well"

Bell "I did my best. It is good to see you are recovered."

Finn "I will be allowed to leave soon. Sorry you all had to take care of me"

Gareth "Cannot send a pallum to do a dwarf's job"

Finn "Lol, I am afraid you are correct this time. You would have handled that damage from Revis a lot better"

Finn "Bell, I heard your attack knocked Revis into retreat. And your cannon made the demi spirit lose most of its mobility. And you helped finish it off. Well done"

Bell "Thanks Finn. That monster was really built like a rock. Took a lot to take it down"

Riveria "Well, Bell, are you level 4 now?"

Bell smiled "Yes I am" which almost made Lefiya cry.

Ais "Really, you are out of excuses"

Bell smiled at the girl "Remember I have 2 months so that is another 10 days"

Tiona laughed "10 days before you do what?"

Tione teased "Yes the curious public want to know"

Bell smirked "Certain details are not for public consumption"

That reminded Ais of the punishment she owed Loki for Bell and the 2 naked girls. So she walked up to Loki

Ais "Loki, I forgot to give you this" a big hug and then a kiss on the cheeks that put Loki into an euphoric state.

Loki giggling "Wow I am so happy"

Ais "Well, because you did not help Bell keep the 2 naked girls off of him. You will not get any more for 6 months. Otherwise I would have rewarded you once a month for taking care of me"

The thought of such a reward once per month made Loki have a nose bleed, but that she came back to reality as no reward would be coming forward.

Riveria could not but help laugh "Lol, Ais, that is the meanest thing I have ever seen do"

Finn joined in laughing at Loki "Yes, show Loki the reward, and then take it away. Ouch indeed"

At that point, Raul came in and gave a report about Bete, making everyone worry.

Loki "Ais, I want you to tail the wolf. Make sure he does not cause a calamity. Report in regularly"

Ais "Yes Loki" as she left on her mini mission.

\- An Hour Later -

Bell finished with the Loki familia. With Ais busy handling familia matters, he did not have his regular sparring partner. As the other executives were afraid of punishment, Bell had time to handle a couple of matters.

First he had to try to get Lili in his familia, and second, he need to spend more time talking to Haruhime about hero stories. The first matter was Lili so he needed to talk to his fellow familia members and then find Lili.

By that time however, his level up story had reached a fever pitch in Orario. The record holder now for level 2 in 3 weeks, level 3 in 2 weeks and level 4 in 2 weeks. Everyone was only talking about Bell Cranel. Indeed the casinos had started taking bets on when Bell makes level 5. However, the celebrity has also made it difficult for Bell to walk around Orario without hero worship going on or receiving hateful stares...

Eventually, Bell managed to get everyone together and they had lunch at the Hostess together. After conferring with Syr and Ryuu, they decided just to go talk to Soma directly. Find out the cost and go earn it in the dungeon.

So they all headed to the Soma home after lunch, but captain Zanis was not helpful. Not accepting no for an answer, Bell dragged Lili to talk to Soma himself. While unhappy, Zanis did not dare challenge Bell who is 2 levels higher than Zanis. He also remember how Bell dismantled Hyakinthos in the war game.

Soma was actually receptive to Lilli's request. However, he questioned why the Hestia familia wanted Lili that much. When Bell said it was because of friendship, Soma asked how much he valued the friendship. Soma then asked Bell whether he could drink a sip of the wine and still say that friendship is that important to him.

Despite Lili begging Bell not to drink the wine, Bell agreed to Soma's request.


	26. Chapter 26

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

**HAPPY THANKSGIVING**

Marshall Cross Marian - Ais decided that spanking was not having the desired effect so withholding what Loki wants is the new punishment

CORRUPTO - Thanks

Guest - half blood ?

SkellZero - so that is your guess, seems reasonable

\- At the Soma Home -

Despite Lili begging Bell not to drink the intoxicating wine, Bell agreed to Soma's request. He takes in the fine aroma and took a healthy sip.

The drink created an incredible feeling. Bell felt that he was losing himself. Then suddenly his life flashed before him.

His grandfather / Sleeping in the same room as Hestia / The minotaur / Ais and the kiss and the second kiss / Ais running away / Eina freaking out / Bete knocking him against the wall / Riveria's money offer / The third kiss with Ais / Ais running away again / The talk with Hestia / Sending roses to Ais / Riveria's talk and training / The silverback / The Hestia knife / Hestia fainting / Finn's talk and training / Lili / Firebolt / Lap pillow from Ais / Ais' request to shorten her wait / The long kiss / Talk with Gareth and teasing Riveria / Saving Lili / Cat fight between Lili and Hestia / Talk with Loki executives and being able to stand by Ais' side / The mino fight / Leveling up / Ais discovering Bell's secret training by the Loki executives / The punishment of the Loki executives / Hestia being investigated / Finn defending Hestia / Training by Ais / Hestia exonerated / Argonaut charging / The goliath / Hermes, Talaria and the Hades Hat / Sneaking in the dungeon on the Loki familia mission with Hestia and Hermes / Defeating Amphisbaena / The battle with the Demi Spirit / Level 3 / Being teased by Tiona and Tione / Peeking with Hermes and Hermes' punishment by frog / EVERYTHING / Caught being naked with Lefiya / Ais punishing all the girls / Ais in pajamas / Being spanked by Ais and liking it / Tucking in Ais every night / Interrogation by Loki executives / Saving Take familia and making friends / Welf and Mikoto / Search for 2nd entrance / Dancing with Ais / Training by Freya familia / Welf and Mikoto joining Hestia familia / War games / Date with Freya / Nervous Ais defeating all the Loki executives / Moving to the new home / Surrendering to the Ishtar familia / Saving the naked Lili and Mikoto / Knossos, Revis and the Demi Spirit / Level 4

\- A Couple Minutes Later -

During the time that Bell's life flashed in his mind, everyone gathered around him really worried. Then suddenly his falna glow red hot, in his mind was an image of Ais and where he wanted to stand beside her.

Bell then spoke "That is a wonderful wine. May I finish the glass?" with Soma nodding.

Bottoms up, and Bell finished the wine. He had conquered its effects. His friends then hugged him with tears in their eyes.

Soma "You proved your friendship. I will allow Lili to leave for 10 million valis"

Bell "Would you allow us one month to earn that"

Soma "That would be fine."

After Soma released Lili, she thanked him for everything he had done for her. Seeing how close the group's friendship was, Soma decided that he had to make changes to his familia...

\- An Hour Later -

Hestia had given Lili her falna. And they celebrated with a lunch at the Hostess. As they partied on, Welf and Bell squeezed Lili's ears at the same time and Hestia reminded her of her naked reveal. The mention of the Ishtar charm did get both Lili and Mikoto blushing. Welf immediately noticed the reaction while Haruhime was ashamed because that reminded her of her former profession.

Seeing the exuberant table, Syr and Ryuu joined in enjoying the spirit. However, when it became clear what they are laughing about, Ryuu's elf ears got red though Syr joined in the teasing.

Syr teased "I hear from Freya sama that the charm allows one to act out your inner desires?" which got Ryuu worried.

Shocked by the accusation, Lili defended "I think it just allows others to live vicariously through others", which made Welf cough up his food.

Syr laughed "Yes I would enjoy being carried by the famous Bell in my natural state!"

Lili attacked "Well, I do not have designs on men who are already taken"

Syr deflected "Really? Some of your cat fights with Hestia sama are pretty special though. I wonder what you are fighting over"

As the cat contest continued, Bell and Welf were sweating not knowing what could come next. Thankfully, Mia screamed at the two waitresses as cooked food was getting cold waiting for their pickup...

\- That Afternoon -

After lunch, the news of former Ishtar amazons being attacked all over the city reached the happy group. The other news was also that the Loki familia had mobilized to address the attacks. So Bell got worried and started to look for Ais, starting with the Twilight Manor.

\- At the Twilight Manor -

The guards at the guard allowed Bell in, as he was there frequently enough to tuck Ais in. After he went inside, he went to the dining room, but none of the executives were there. So he went to Loki's office.

Knock Knock

Loki "Who is it?"

Bell "It is Bell"

Loki "Bell who?"

Bell smirked "Bell who needs some loving from Ais" causing laughter inside.

When the door swung open, Loki had a naughty look on her face with several executives behind her.

Loki "Cheeky rabbit, are you not?"

Bell smiled "I may put in a good word for you if you behave"

The blatant power play surprised Loki but Riveria, Gareth and Finn were amused.

Finn chuckled "Loki, may be you need to listen to your new boss", pissing Loki off.

Riveria laughed "A rookie putting the trickster in her place. Pretty amusing"

Gareth raised his hands "My lips are sealed"

Seeing that she was beaten, Loki "Well Bell, you have me at a disadvantage now. So what do you need today?"

Bell "About Ais. Are the attacks on the former Ishtar members related to Ais or Bete"

Loki "Evilus and assassins are attacking the former Ishtar members. Ais is monitoring Bete, but she is fine. Tiona was sent to relay her messages. Riveria will soon be going also"

Bell "I want to check on Ais. Where can I find her?"

Loki smiled "Checking on the girl friend. What is it worth to you?"

Confident Bell "Like I said, I could put in a good word", with the executives chuckling at Loki having her chops busted again.

Loki "Ok. She is near the Belit Babili, but dont ruin her mission, little bunny"

Bell "Thank you Lady Loki"

With that, Bell said good bye to the group and headed out to find Ais. After he closed the door, he heard the executives giving Loki crap about having 2 bosses now...

\- Near the Belit Babili -

Bell got to the abandoned area and started looking for Ais. Soon an amazon jumped down from a building to greet him.

Tiona "Argonaut-kun, came to get some princess loving?"

Bell "Tiona-san, I want to make sure Ais is doing ok on her mission"

Tiona "I can take you to her."

Bell "Thank you"

Smiling Tiona "But what is it worth to you"

Bell laughed "All these Loki people are trying to barter with me. What do you want Tiona-san?"

Tiona "Well, I cannot ask for a kiss. Well I can ask for your secret to quick growth"

Bell smirked "I think it must be the kisses from Ais"

Defeated Tiona "You do not play fair", which make Bell laugh...

So the defeated Tiona took Bell to Ais on top of a building.

Ais "Bell, what are you doing here?"

Tiona winked "He came to get some"

Ais bashes Tiona on the head.

Bell "I heard about the assassins so came to check on you"

Ais gives Bell a hug, making Tiona wished she had a boyfriend. From the top of the building, they then watched Bete talking with a cute amazon girl, which surprised Bell and Tiona.

Bell winked and whispered "Tiona-san, looks like Bete likes amazons", causing Tiona to give him a dirty look.

Ais wanted to gossip "They had a dungeon date earlier"

As they talked, a large number of assassins dressed in black went to attack Bete and the amazon. As Bell was ready to jump in to assist, Ais held him back.

Ais "Our orders are to observe and only lend assistance if needed. Bete can handle these"

Bell looked and it did look like Bete could handle himself against the assassins that look to be low level. However, the amazon suddenly ran off with most of the assassins chasing her.

Bell "Oh no"

Ais "Let's move", as she chased after the girl while she ran along the tops of building. Bell quickly followed Ais, leaving Tiona to watch over Bete.

Unfortunately, by the time they could locate the girl, she was already lying on the ground apparently dead. By the time Bell and Ais landed, Bete and Tiona were already there with Bete insulting the dead girl for dying. With Bete all angry and emotional, Tiona took the girl's body and left in a hurry. That left Bell and Ais to bring Bete to the hospital.

The hospital was really busy with all the attacks that day. Thus Bete, Ais and Bell waited all night for Airmid to get to Bete's less urgent case. After Bete's case, Airmid was about at mind down, so Bell and Ais helped her to get some rest. By the time they returned, Bete was gone seemingly having smashed through a window...

Riveria then had Ais look for the missing Bete, so Bell followed along. They searched and searched, but had no idea where Bete was until they heard a wolf howl. Realizing that was Bete letting the enemy know where he was, they rushed towards the location.

When Bell and Ais got close, they noticed a trail of blood. When they followed the trail to the end, there was a message on a wall which seemed to be meant for Bete - telling him to go to the basement of the former Ishtar home.

When Bell and Ais reached the former Ishtar home, they saw a large number of dead assassins on the ground. Then the ground shook so they figured that Bete must be fighting underground. As they got near the building, the flames from Bete's Hati magic erupted to the surface, which force Ais to use ariel to escape while carrying Bell in a princess carry.

When they finally got to the basement, there were a large number of dead Thanatos members. Bete also had Valleta cornered and she was half charred by Hati. Realizing Bell and Ais were there, Bete turned and told them to stay away or be killed. As Bete continued to kill Valleta, Ais wanted to interfere. However Bell dragged Ais away as he realized it was useless with the flame consuming the remaining Thanatos member.

\- The Next Day -

After the battle, Bete disappeared, but the Loki familia were hoping to hear from him.

That day, Bell went into the dungeon to collect money to pay Soma back for Lili. Ais went along as well as his familia members. They did have a good day earning more than 500,000 valis in magic stones and drop items.

\- The Next Day -

Loki members finally found Bete sitting on a pile of rubble where he had watched the amazon die. Seeing Bete in a moment of weakness, the Loki members wanted to take full advantage and participated a conspiracy crafted by Loki.

The conspiracy played out first with Ais who went to talk to Bete. As Bete left Ais, Loki went to Bete and ordered Bete to answer the question that Ais asked - why Bete looked down on weaklings and why he wanted to become stronger. After he answered, all the Loki members came out, with Bell going along with them for the fun of it. As they teased Bete for being a tsundere, Bete attacked everyone. It was a huge monkey pile, but at the end, it was Bell and Bete that were wrestling.

Bell laughed "Tsundere wolvie, lol lol lol lol lol"

Bete "Rabbit brat, how dare a newcomer mock me!"

Bell smirked "Angry wolvie is so cute"

Bete "That is it, I challenge you bunny brat"

Bell "I accept your challenge", as he wanted to test himself against a level 6...


	27. Chapter 27

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

With challenge issued by Bete and accepted by Bell, Loki jumped in.

Excited Loki "Wait, there is going to be some ground rules. No magic, no weapons and not here."

Annoyed Bete "All these rules. Where then? I want to spank the bunny brat"

Loki "We need an isolated location"

Bete "The dungeon?"

Loki "I am not going to miss this fight for the world, Tsundere"

Bete "What did you call me?"

Loki "Finn, you decide on an isolated location"

Ais went up to Bell "Are you sure?"

Bell "Yes, I want to fight a level 6, so may as well be Tsundere"

Bete "Stop calling me that" but the entire familia started laughing and so the furious Bete has a new official nickname. That of course made him want to fight even more.

Finn then quickly chose the remote area where Bell practices argonaut. As the huge group headed towards the location, the Hestia familia got wind of the battle so they went along. Before the fight, Hestia gave Bell an update so Loki also gave Bete one.

Level 4

Strength: 0 - 52

Endurance: 0 - 59

Agility: 0 - 61

Dexterity: 0 - 48

Magic: 0 - 66

Skill - Liaris Freese (hidden), Argonaut, Ox Slayer

Development ability - luck, abnormal resistance, Escape

While this was going on, there was a lot of wagering going on. Ais bet on Bell, of course, and she had every reason to beyond the obvious one. She has been training with Bell before his level up, and he was fighting her pretty evenly. And she should be similar in power to Bete so now she believed Bell may have an advantage. Compared to Ais, Bete may have a bit more strength per level, but she leveled up to 6 before Bete did. The only question in her mind was how much of Bell's power is wrapped up in argonaut, as the contest prohibits the use of magic and skills like argonaut.

Tiona also bet on argonaut, as did Tione. As the captain, Finn had to bet on his familia member even though he thought Bell could fight evenly with Bete. Gareth was also forced into the similar situation. Riveria though refused to take sides. Eventually the biggest wager was between Tione and Finn, with a date at stake for Tione or money for Finn. Another huge wager was between Hestia and Loki, with the loser being the maid for the winner for 1 day. After all the bets were recorded, the 2 started their match.

In the beginning, Bete wanted to overpower Bell. Bell was instead happy to engage in a wrestling test of strength as they engaged each other hand-to-hand trying to force the other backwards. To Bete's shock, he was not able to push Bell back at all. Though Bell was also unable to push Bete back either. As the test of strength went on for a few minutes, the audience was going crazy cheering. Ais and mini Ais had their pompoms out. Tiona and Tione also cheered for the argonaut. Hestia was screaming for her Bell. Lili was using her cinder ella in naughty ways. Mikoto, Welf and Haruhime cheered Bell on. On the other side, the overwhelming cheering from the Loki lower level members was for Bete, though some did want Bete to be spanked.

The test of strength continued unabated, but after about 10 minutes, it appeared that it was not going anywhere.

Bell was pleased thinking "My strength held up well. I may eventually get an advantage if we continue in the same way."

Bete thought "Rabbit has equal strength, totally unfair. And he is maintaining his strength even a little better than me. Need to try something else"

Ais thought "Bell is just as strong as Bete. OMG EVERYTHING is coming"

Finn thought "Wow Bell may indeed outlast Bete. This is probably not ending well for Bete."

Bete then jumped back to disengage before launching into a full out assault"

Bete's kicks are deadly, which Bell understood. But he wanted to get close in where his rabbit combination punches can do some damage. As Bete kicked away, Bell hopped back.

Worried Tiona "Bete is getting an advantage"

Calm Ais "Bell needs to move closer in. He is just getting used to Bete's fighting style"

Bete "Come on, rabbit, are you afraid"

Bell smiled "You are getting weaker, Tsundere", causing Bete to jump after Bell.

Bell's teasing made Bete attack more aggressive, whereas Bell moved around looking for an opening to get closer in. It was an intense battle where they had roughly equal strength and agility. After a while, Bell started jumping in showing his rabbit combinations which surprised Bete with incredibly repetition of upper body strikes. While neither landed a serious hit, they continue on this incredible pace for quite some time.

Tiona "Yes I see that Bell's style is different than Bete. Bell prefers close in attacks while Bete likes to kick away"

Ais "Yes but they are evenly match, with neither able to dictate the pace"

About another 10 minutes or so, the audience was shocked by the duration and pace of the fight. The lower level members were all humbled as Bell has only been adventuring for less than 2 months. Lefiya was awe-struck with the fight and how Bell progressed.

Lefiya thought sadly "He has left me completely in the dust. I am not a rival and would be lucky to become an understudy at this point."

Riveria thinking "He now can definitely stand by her side. In fact, he may beat her at this point"

Tione "Captain, where are we going for our date?"

Finn sweating "It can go either way at this point, so you better have your money"

Gareth laughed as he knew Finn's tone is not as confident as it should be, and Riveria chuckled thinking about a date between Finn and Tione.

Ais kept thinking "EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING..." while mini-Ais was thinking about wedding dresses.

The fight continued as neither fighter could get a clear advantage. Neither could land a serious blow. About half an hour into the fight, Bete jump back to disengage again.

Bete laughed "Bunny, you fight like a little mouse. Fight me like a man!"

Bell laughed "Says the Tsundere wolf who fights like a puppy!"

Tiona teased "Tsundere, why are you having trouble with a new level 4?"

Tione teased "Tsundere, you need some help?"

Bete "You two die after the rabbit"

Frustrated by the teasing, Bete started wrestling again with Bell trying to push Bell back. A few minutes later, again neither could push the other back. That only made Bete even more frustrated. He finally realized Bell was trying to wear him down. The thought of that was unacceptable. Thus he backed off again to disengage and started to fight again.

Thanks to training from the senior executives and Ais, Bell was fighting the careful fight. Realizing Bete is formidable, Bell certainly was not going to use the all or nothing Freya familia style here. Bell realized that their speed and agility are similar, his only advantage may be slightly better endurance. So he has to fight the long fight and wear the wolf down.

Thus their respective strategies was sat and both sides knew what the other's plan was. Bete wanted to end it sooner while Bell would fight carefully. To score, Bete had to push the pace, but Bell would not let him. The audience was buzzing despite the long fight, which already had gone 45 minutes.

Excited Tiona "Tsundere cannot score"

Tione laughed "Lol Rabbit is making him chase"

Ais thought "Come on Bell, come on." while dreading the eventuality of EVERYTHING at the same time. Mini-Ais had no such reservation and just cheered on with her pompoms going full out.

One of the level 2 members asked Raul "How is it possible that a level 4 can fight a level 6 for an hour and not lose"

Raul said in a plain and honest way "Well, this is Bell Cranel, and he does not follow normal rules. He helped us as a level 2 and level 3 in a way no level 6 was able to do. By the time he reaches level 6, he will be the strongest in Orario" which made Lefiya's heart sink ever further...

An hour into the fight, endurance was becoming an issue. Both fighters have slowed down a bit but Bete noticeably more. Realizing that he was slowing down, Bete started getting more desperate and took more chances. Bell however refused to bite and kept fighting a conservative fight. Furthermore, fighting even more aggressively wore Bete down even more. With still no one scoring a significant strike though, they just kept on fighting. Ten minutes later, as Bete made an aggressive kick, Bell was able to avoid and score the first good hit on Bete, which knocked Bete a good 20 feet back.

Finn sweating more thinking "Oh it has begun"

Loki sweating thinking about a picture of herself in a maid outfit.

Ais thought "Bell just score the first hit. EVERYTHING..."

Tiona "Go argonaut go"

Realizing that Bell has the advantage, Bete collected himself and jumped at Bell again. He knew he was wearing down and it will get worse. Either he fights even more aggressively or Bell will just continue to wear him down as the strategy was working.

Thus Bete took even more chances, but still was unable to score a good hit on Bell. Bell's careful pace was driving the wolf crazy. A few more minutes later, Bell scored another hit on Bete which knocked him back again.

Finn was resigned to his fate while Riveria and Gareth were amazed how disciplined Bell was.

Loki was nearly in tears thinking of her punishment while Hestia was mentally creating a list of jobs for Loki to do.

Tiona "Argonaut is going to win. It is just a matter of time"

Tione "Ais, look like he is ready to stand by your side", making the blonde girl blush thinking about EVERYTHING.

But Bete shaked it off and continue to attack again. Even with more openings now, Bell was still satisfied to fight carefully. He knew if he did not make a mistake, he will wear the wolf down completely. That was also clear to Bete but he was stuck. He could not get Bell to engage in a risky pace, and when he took chances, he often got punished. But there was no other way. By this time, an hour and half had past. Both combatants had slowed down even more, but Bete was the one who was getting clearly tired.

A level 2 asked "Is Tsundere getting slower and slower?"

Raul "Yes he is. Bell has the clear upper hand now. "

A level 3 "Tsundere is going to lose. It is a matter of time now"

Raul "Yes the reason Bete is fighting so aggressively is that he knows he is losing. He is trying to change the dynamics but Bell is careful and staying conservative."

The level 2 "You mean Bell is wearing Tsundere down."

Raul "Exactly."

As Bete continued to attack, the rabbit continued to play keep away. When Bete over-committed, Bell scores another strike. However Bell does not try to push it too far and try to do a rabbit combination for the win. The frustration was clearly getting the best of Bete, but he only could keep fighting and being aggressive.

Two hours into the fight. Bete was getting visibly tired. Even Bell was getting winded, but he knew now he was going to win. By this time, he had hit Bete 8 separate times. 8 times but none were devastating blows. Nevertheless, they were serious body blows and the damage was showing on the wolf. What no one else realized was a couple of those strikes had broken a rib each. But the wolf was bravely fighting on without showing any great pain.

But the pain and tiredness were getting too much for Bete. So he lost control and went on a last ditch combination attack. However Bell was able to avoid the combination and got behind the wolf. Bell then landed 2 quick punches to Bete's back before grabbing hold of the wolf's proud tail.

With his tail caught, Bete freaked out trying to run away, but Bell held on which caused Bete great pain as he desperately ran forward. Fearing the tail would rip off, Bell actually let go, but that caused Bete to lose his balance and lunge hard forward into the ground.

Bell "Lets stop. Your tail is in bad shape"

Proud Bete "No way. There is no mercy on the battlefield. I am going to win"

As the proud wolf continued to attack, the result was basically decided. The two strikes to the back did a lot of damage, and it took all his self-control to keep fighting. This all slowed him down some more, and Bell was now scoring punches without much trouble.

Over the next few minutes, Bell landed many more punches that were starting to stagger the wolf. But Bete's pride kept him on his feet. As Bete continued to fight on, Bell still fought conservatively, never trying to land any rabbit combinations. However, the damage was getting ridiculous with Bell scoring a couple big body blows per minute. At this point, the damage was becoming apparent.

Finn "Bete, I think this is enough"

Riveria "Bete there is no need to continue this"

Bell "Lets stop"

But Bete fought on, and kept charging at the rabbit. At this point, Bell was taking mercy on Bete and stop hitting him really hard.

Ais thought "It is over. EVERYTHING!"

Tiona "Tsundere is done"

Finn "The wolf is going to fight until he drops"

Gareth "Let him drop. Bell is already pulling back so just let Bete run out of energy"

Finally another half hour into the fight, Bete collapsed from total exhaustion.

Ais thought "EVERYTHING" as mini-Ais celebrated

Evil Hestia "Loki is my maid now" as Loki cried.

Hestia members together won more than a million valis from a number of Loki members, all of which to be contributed into the Lili transfer funding.

The beat down was so bad that the others stopped teasing Bete. Except two amazons showed up to check on him. It was Aisha and the amazon Lena who was supposed to have been killed.

Lena teased "Bete, you are cute when you are helpless"

Bete who was too exhausted to be shocked "I saw you died."

Lena "Airmid saved me"

Riveria "Sorry Bete we kept it a secret. We did not want the assassins to attack them any more"

At that point, Lena started to give Bete a lap pillow as they poured potions on him to treat his broken bones and his tail. Nevertheless, Bell had completely worn the wolf down and he was as helpless as a puppy on Lena's lap.

Seeing Bete recovering, Tiona and Tione went to have some fun. They teased the helpless Bete mercilessly.

Tiona "Tsundere, you are so cute on her lap. And you were threatening us when you lost to a level 4"

Tione "Who is the weak one now? Losing to a level 4"

Bete "Shut up, I will beat you down later"

Tione "Tsundere, your fur is pretty smooth" as she petted his head.

Tiona then played with Bete's tail which made him scream in anger.

Tione then decided to take a souvenir - pulling out a couple wolf whiskers.

Ais thought again "EVERYTHING"

At that point, Finn and Gareth came to save the wolf.

Finn "You are just exhausted. All the broken bones are repaired"

However, Lena then had something to tell Bete "Bete, are you going to take responsibility now?"

Exhausted Bete "What?"

Lena "I am pregnant, daddy" as Bete fainted and many gasped.

Finn laughed "Wow that was the knock out punch for daddy."

Tione "Well captain, are you going to take responsibility now."

Finn sweated "Ahhhhhh..."

Tione smiled longingly "Our date. Where are you taking me? I want to find out whether the rumor about pallums is true..."

Fighting back the urge to run, Finn fainted...


	28. Chapter 28

hi piggy here

this will not be updated for at least 2 months.

i got involved in a COVID19 mask-alternative startup and we are working 7-24.

flying to texas today from california.

will be there in the middle of the hot humid summer around the same time as 2 hurricanes will show up

wish me luck in meetings with education, sports, government and entertainment sectors


	29. Chapter 29

still working hard in the covid19 startup

but had some energy to write this chapter

piggy

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

After Bell defeated Bete in their contest, there were many consequences. Strangely, almost all the consequences were borne by those in the Loki familia.

Bete, who was still worn down by the fight, was still on Lena's lap. Furthermore, when Lena told him he will be a daddy, Bete fainted. As Bete laid unconscious on Lena's lap, his fellow executives merrily betrayed him by inviting Lena to join the Loki familia, which was quickly accepted. Now Bete has constant parental supervision, much to the delight of Tiona.

Loki, who lost her bet to Hestia, now has to be Hestia's maid for one day. Unknown to Loki, Hermes made a side deal with Hestia, who was happy to sell Loki out. The evil Hestia ordered poor Loki to show up at 7am sharp saturday morning to report duty in full maid uniform. In tears, Loki accepted her fate. That date is only 3 days away.

Finn, the captain, had to honor his promise to take Tione on a date. After Finn recovered from fainting, it was now up to Finn to figure out the details. However, the Knossos situation was critical, so Tione agreed to delay the date until the situation was under control. Of course, that meant holding hands all the time, much to the enjoyment of the other Loki executives.

Ais, the princess, could think of nothing except EVERYTHING with Bell beating a level 6. Part of her was in such terror that she was ready to run away like a scared bunny. What is even more terrorizing and tantalizing to Ais was that Bell seemed to wink at Ais a lot...

There were also gambling debts to be paid. The beneficiaries of the contest were almost all in the Hestia familia. With Hestia members all contributing their winnings to the Lili transfer fund, the fund reached 2 million valis. So they had 8 million valis to go.

As the Hestia members considered different quests to pay the remaining valis, Riveria approached them for an open-ended quest for assistance in the man-made dungeon they discovered. It worked for both sides as the Loki familia needed Bell's cannon and the Hestia familia received the funds it needed to pay Soma.

\- Later that Day -

The adventurers only had an idea of what is in the Knossos. What was the most troubling was the 7 empty flasks that Ais believed formerly had jewel fetuses in them. What they cannot decided was if the jewel fetuses are in the dungeon, in the Knossos or in Orario. So a thorough search of the Knossos was needed while the second entrance must be monitored. They decided that the guild had to be involved as more resources are needed. Meanwhile Loki and Hestia requested Hephaestus to build an additional gate so the enemy cannot use the second entrance without an additional key.

After talking to Hephaestus regarding the gate, Loki and Hestia went to the guild to meet with Ouranos and Ganesha. They agreed that all the familias will contribute to the Knossos search and subjugation. That meant bringing Freya into the process. With Denatus on Friday in two days, that would be time getting everyone involved. In the meantime, they did want to do a preliminary search of the top levels of the Knossos to see if there were any more entrances.

\- That Evening at the Loki Private Dining Room -

Bell and Hestia ate with Loki, Finn, Riveria, Gareth and Ais. They were still discussing the Knossos, but there were other pressing matters. In particular, Riveria and Gareth wanted to know about Finn's date with Tione.

Riveria smiled "Finn, where are you taking Tione. I hear that she is shopping for a dress"

Finn sweating "We agreed to delay it until Knossos is under control"

Bell "We know that and the hand holding is so cute."

Gareth "But the gentleman must take responsibility and start planning, no?"

Finn giving in "Tione likes seafood, but it is tough because we are not close to the sea."

Detecting the excuse, Bell offered a solution "You can use talaria for the evening. You can fly her to anywhere along to coast"

Gareth piled on "How romantic"

Riveria then took a direct approach "Finn, are you going to take responsibility? The girl is really happy right now"

Loki joined in "Yes, being a hero means taking responsibility"

Cornered, Finn "Bell, thank you. I will take you up on the offer"

Showing no mercy, Bell "So when do you need talaria?"

Cornered again, Finn "Immediately after Knossos is brought under control"

Bell smiled "Sure that is fine"

Finn then changed the topic "Yes, I would not want to miss Loki's day at the Hestia home"

Loki in pain "Ouch Finn" as her captain betrayed her.

During the date negotiations, Ais was really quiet. Riveria did notice.

Curious Riveria "Ais, is everything alright?"

Shy Ais "Yes Riveria, I am fine" though Ais flinched when Riveria used to word 'everything' in her sentence.

Riveria "How is Bete?"

Finn "Bete is helping Lena move into her room"

Gareth laughed "That was a stroke of genius"

Riveria smiled "Will he ever be the same?"

Finn chuckled "Realities of fatherhood"

Riveria "Bete is the pioneer but the pallum can learn from the wolf"

Finn chuckled "It appears you have me at a disadvantage"

Naughty Bell "Captain Finn, if you want privacy, I have my grandfather's old cabin in the woods"

Smiling Riveria "That sounds cozy"

Nonchalant Gareth "A good mood"

Cornered Finn "You guys are enjoying this too much"

Smirking Bell "So what is the Pallums' secret?"

Embarrassed Finn "..." as Riveria, Loki and Gareth laugh evilly.

Thankfully for Finn, Bell changed the topic "Ais, do you want to see my grandfather's place?"

Ais blushed and was barely able to keep herself from running away "Yes Bell" while the thought of EVERYTHING keeps ringing in her head.

Smiling Riveria "Tiona and Tione will be really sorry they were not here"

Smiling Bell "Ais, I will take you after we have dealt with the Knossos and show you everything" as everything kept repeating in Ais' head while mini Ais celebrated.

\- The Next Day -

After the additional security gate was built next to the second entrance, the Loki executives and Bell went inside the Knossos for a quick search. While several Ganesha members stayed nearby to watch over the entrance, they looked for additional entrances. Fortunately, they were able to minimize the amount of fighting and also discovered the other entrance. As the Hephaestus familia started building another security gate, the group was satisfied that they have sufficiently secured things for the time being.

\- Later that Day -

At the Twilight Manor -

Finn, Gareth and Riveria were meeting with Loki to discuss the plans for Knossos.

Finn "At least we may have prevented the enemy from having easy access to smuggle items and monsters to the surface"

Loki "But we have no idea what has been smuggled"

Riveria "That is true. The jewel fetuses are easily carried by a person."

Finn "Though it seems the jewel fetuses need to be combined with a strong monster to become a formidable demi spirit."

Loki "It is difficult to hide a large monster in Orario and the entrances would not allow an enormous monster to be transported."

Finn "A dragon would be really bad. As would some floor bosses. Especially a black one like Bell fought"

\- However In Rakia -

Mars was planning another war against Orario, despite Marius' pleas not to do so. As the military got ready for war, the Crozzo family was discussing Welf. Soon after, an invasion was launched.

\- At the Guild -

With Rakia's launch of full scale war, the major familias were brought in to address the attempted invasion. That included Freya, Loki, Hermes, Hephaestus, Ganesha familias. The Hestia familia was also invited given Bell's special gifts.

Finn was put in charge of the Orario army with the assistance of Shakti and Asfi.

Finn "The battlefield will be divided into 4 sectors. Each would be led by a major familia. Sector 1 will be headed by Freya familia. Sector 2 will be headed by Hermes familia. Sector 3 will be headed by Hephaestus and Ganesha familia. Sector 4 will be headed by Loki familia."

Shakti "Right, and please leave at least half of your experienced adventurers in Orario just in case. Please do not undertake any dungeon exploration during this war"

Freya "Fine, Ottar will take the lead. Allan and the Gulliver brothers will stay in Orario to assist with city wall defenses"

Hermes "Asfi will lead for my familia. Half my second class adventurers will stay in Orario and help with city wall defenses"

Shakti "I will lead my familia. Our remaining first class adventurers will watch over the dungeon and Knossos entrances"

Tsubaki "I will go with Shakti"

Finn "I will lead our war effort in our sector. Riveria and Gareth will stay in Orario, with Riveria helping with city wall defenses while Gareth assists Ganesha familia with the dungeon watch"

Finn to Bell "Bell, you and your familia members can come with us"

Shakti "We have 18 hours to make preparations. We will meet back at the Babel before heading to stop the Rakian forces.

\- The Next Day -

Bell and Mikoto met with the Loki familia at the Babel. He was happy to see Ais there. Bete was also there but Lena was there to supervise. Poor Tione was unable to hold hands with Finn as she was ordered to help with city wall defenses.

Bell quietly to Ais "Ais, people say that you can learn everything about each other in a war"

Ais nodded but thought "Everything!"

\- On the Battlefield -

Ais told Bell to hold off as she uses ariel to scare the living daylights of the Rakian soldiers. After chasing the scared soldiers off, Ais and Bell regrouped together.

Bell "Ais, you were very scary lol"

Ais "Thanks Bell. There was no need for killing."

Suddenly, there was a report about a goddess being abducted from Orario. It was Hestia!

Immediately Bell and Ais went off using talaria to save Hestia. After they reached the city wall area where Hestia was captured, they found Hermes and Loki there.

Loki "Mars grabbed Hestia when she went to get potatoes for making potato snacks."

Bell "..."

Asfi then showed up "I will scout the area in the northern sector. You cover the southern sector"

\- In a Mountainous Area -

Mars, Marius and Rakian soldiers carry the captured Hestia, who is screaming at them.

Hestia "Mars, wait till they catch you, you will pay"

Mars winked "Hestia, enjoy your captivity. If you make me feel good, I will be easier on you."

Hestia "You scoundrel!"

As Hestia continued to scream, 2 adventurers dropped in from the sky. It was Bell and Ais.

In the mad mess of the battle that ensued, Hestia fell into a river, with Bell and Ais chasing after her in talaria and ariel.

\- An Hour Later at a Mountain Village -

Bell and Ais saved Hestia from the river, but she was recovering from what happened.

The leader of the village, Cam, was kind enough to give them their own hut to rest and recuperate.

Inside, while Hestia slept, Bell and Ais watched over her.

After changing the wet compress on Hestia's forehead, Bell and Ais sat and watched quietly over Hestia.

After a while, Bell looked at Ais with a meaningful look, which made Ais want to running away at top speed.

Bell smiled at Ais and whispered "Let's make good use of the time while we wait" as he pressed against Ais.

Ais thought "... everything ..."


	30. Chapter 30

ok, this may be it for a while.

back to the covid19 rat race...

piggy

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. **DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!**

While Bell and Ais watched over the unconscious Hestia, Bell smiled and thought of a better way to multi-task. As Bell pushed against Ais, all Ais could think of was EVERYTHING.

\- An Hour Later -

Hestia was dreaming about heaven, her friends, her children...

Eventually, some soft noises disturbed her pleasant soothing dream. Something was not right. Eventually, her eyes opened a little, then a little more. Finally, she found herself looking at something unspeakable. In fact, she could not believe her eyes. Thinking that it was a bad dream, she closed her eyes. After a couple seconds though, the noise did not go away.

Hestia then opened her eyes again, but this time she was more awake. She really could not believe her eyes. There were 2 bodies entwined with golden hair and white hair all mixed together! It took a couple seconds for the scene to register in her godly thoughts.

Hestia was in shock! "Bell-kun what is going on!?"

Bell was in heaven enjoying what he has been waiting for and dreaming about for weeks. Suddenly Hestia's voice interrupted his bliss. The voice however did not immediately register, but a couple seconds later, he looked up. Bell saw Hestia's eyes, each of which were as large as the moon.

At the same time, Ais was also in a dream, but Hestia's voice also got her attention. Looking towards the bed where Hestia was resting, Ais was horrified to see Hestia looking wide-eye at them in complete shock.

With nothing to cover up with, the 2 adventurers immediately hid behind Hestia's bed. Both were blushing super tomato-red, and had no reply for Hestia.

After a short period of complete silence, Hestia finally spoke "So, you two finally did it"

Tomato red Bell "Goddess... ... ... I am sorry to shock you like that"

At the same time, tomato red Ais looked down and remained speechless, unable to say anything meaningful.

Hestia "Bell-kun, alright, you need to take responsibility and get Ais something to wear"

With that, the rabbit immediately hopped into action, and found a sheet for Ais to cover herself. After that, Bell quickly found a towel for himself.

After that, Hestia teased them a bit in a weakening voice "So caught in the act. Imagine if I was Loki" making the two really sweat thinking about that.

However Hestia still was not feeling well. She quickly nodded off again. Seeing that, Bell immediately went to change her wet compress again. Ais, still tomato red, quickly put on a dress from Lina, Caam's daughter.

The two then sat next to each other watching over Hestia. However, this time there would be NOTHING instead of EVERYTHING. Ais had never been so humiliated in her life, and Bell also could not believe that they did everything in front of his goddess.

\- An Hour Later -

It was time for dinner, and Lina brought them some food. Lina told them that the village will have a festival tomorrow, and they all hope that Hestia would be in better condition by then.

However, Hestia's fever still have not broke, and they continued to take turns on watch overnight.

Hestia did wake up on and off all night, but she pretended to be asleep. She still could not believe what she saw, as there was far too much rabbit and princess revealing for her appetite. She could not decide whether she would use it against Bell-kun or would she pretend to forget what she saw due to her condition...

\- The Next Morning -

Hestia's fever finally broke in the morning, and Lina brought food again for everyone.

Bell and Ais were still completely embarrassed by their own reveal, but Hestia did not mention their humiliating episode again. A faint trace of an evil smile could almost be seen, but Hestia decided to let them 'off the hook', at least for now... Of course, Bell and Ais kept quiet about what happened, hoping that Hestia indeed did not remember about their everything.

It was festival day, so Bell and Ais helped with the preparations. Hestia still rested though she did walked around the village a bit.

Bell and Ais also got to look around the village. They finally had a chance to talk in private.

Ais "Bell, I almost died in embarrassment"

Bell "Me too. That was bad. I am sorry"

Ais "We both acted on it. Goddess Hestia has not mentioned it again. Do you think she forgot?"

Bell "I hope so, but I am not sure. She may just pretend she forgot, and want to see us sweat over it."

Ais "... Like you when you keep saying everything?"

Bell sweated "Well..."

Ais "You are a bad bunny. You did that on purpose"

Bell laughed "Yes I admit I did enjoy the little blush that showed up every time I said everything lol"

Ais "You are horrible. How could you do that to me?"

Bell laughed "Yes you even reacted when others said everything lol"

Ais "You are a really bad bunny!"

Bell laughed while running away as Ais chased him for punishment.

Ais tried to get her revenge after she caught up, but Bell turned around and surprised her with a sudden attack that brought the two down on to the ground.

Bell smiled "Everything"

Ais "No, stop! Bad bunny! We cannot get caught again!"


End file.
